Healthcare costs rank among Americans’ top personal economic problems, and their struggles to deal with those costs have affected both their financial well-being and their family’s health care, a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds.
Nearly three in 10 Americans (28 percent) report that they or their families have had a serious problem paying for health care and health insurance as a result of recent changes in the economy, behind paying for gasoline (44 percent) and nearly tied with getting a good-paying job or raise in pay (29 percent). Reports of families facing serious economic problems extend up into middle-income families, with 28 percent of those earning between $30,000 and $75,000 reporting a serious problem paying for health care or health insurance as a result of recent changes in the economy.
Also, 24 percent now report skipping a recommended medical test or treatment in the past year because of the cost, up from 17 percent in 2005. Read the survey brief.
