Medical care, medical costs

 Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, something like 90% of Americans have some form of health insurance. Great news! That means we can all afford the medical services we need and nobody has to go broke because they get sick or are injured in a car crash or by somebody exercising their Second Amendment rights! Err, no. Sadly it does not mean that. In the first place, for the 50% of people who get their insurance through employment, it ’s costing them more and more for the premiums – by three times the rate of inflation, since 1999.    With that, plus deductibles, copays, and payment denials by insurance companies, 0verall, spending by middle income families on health care increased by 25% from 2007 to 2014, while spending on other necessities declined.(1) What is more, four out of ten insured adults surveyed in 2023 said they had skipped or delayed some type of care in the past year, and one in six said they had problems paying medical bills.(2) According to an investigation by KFF, more than 100 million Americans – 41% of adults – have debts for medical services. A quarter of those owe more than $5,000 and 1/5 of them never expect to pay it off.(3)The KFF investigation uncovered many depressing stories. A couple who were sued for $10,000 by a hospital where the husband ’s leg was amputated; another who were left with $80,000 in debt after the premature birth of twins; innumerable people who have been denied services altogether because of...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs