Latest news with #DanWitters
Boston Globe
02-04-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
More Americans can't afford medical care, poll finds
"The extent to which that has broadened and expanded really exposes how vulnerable these classes of individuals are," Dan Witters, a senior researcher at Gallup, said. Advertisement White adults and high earners said they experienced no real change in their ability to pay. According to the survey, 8 percent of white adults reported being unable to afford care, the same share as in 2021. Higher premiums, the added cost of going to the doctor and the recent rollback in Medicaid coverage have all contributed to making it harder for people to afford care. Health care costs continue to rise, and dramatic cuts to Medicaid and the elimination of tax subsidies that lower the cost of Obamacare plans, as discussed by the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers, will likely exacerbate the problem, according to experts. Advertisement "It puts further pressure on a system that already has a financial toxicity that is pervasive," said Tim Lash, president of the West Health Policy Center. Many families are already struggling with medical debt, he said. Unlike doing without a new blender, people who forgo care can suffer or die, he said. While there have been significant improvements in the past 15 years under the Affordable Care Act, which significantly expanded Medicaid, "we're not a country where health care is affordable," said Sara R. Collins, a health economist who is vice president for health care coverage and access for the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund. Even when people have insurance, many do not have sufficient coverage to pay their medical bills. If the hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts go through that Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration are considering, the number of people who will not able to afford care is likely to climb, she said, as millions of people lose their coverage or replace it with less generous plans. "We're getting back to levels that existed before the Affordable Care Act," she said. This article originally appeared in .
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Health
- New York Times
More Americans Can't Afford Medical Care, Poll Finds
It's not just the high price of eggs or the rising cost of housing that is contributing to Americans' unhappiness over the cost of living. Health care remains stubbornly unaffordable for millions of people, according to a new survey released Wednesday that underscores the struggle many people have in paying for a doctor's visit or a prescription drug — even before any talk of cutting government coverage. In the survey, 11 percent of people said they could not afford medication and care within the past three months, the highest level in the four years the survey has been conducted. More than a third of those surveyed, representing some 91 million adults, said if they were to need medical care, they would not be able to pay for it. The survey, conducted from mid-November to late December 2024 by West Health and Gallup, also showed widening disparities for Black and Hispanic adults and for those making the least amount of money. A quarter of those with an annual household income of less than $24,000 said they could not afford or access care within the past three months. 'The extent to which that has broadened and expanded really exposes how vulnerable these classes of individuals are,' Dan Witters, a senior researcher at Gallup, said. White adults and high earners said they experienced no real change in their ability to pay. Eight percent of white adults reported being unable to afford care, the same share as in 2021, according to the survey. Higher premiums, the added cost of going to the doctor and the recent rollback in Medicaid coverage have all contributed to making it harder for people to afford care. Health care costs continue to rise, and dramatic cuts to Medicaid and the elimination of tax subsidies that lower the cost of Obamacare plans, as discussed by the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers, will likely exacerbate the problem, according to experts. 'It puts further pressure on a system that already has a financial toxicity that is pervasive, ' said Tim Lash, president of the West Health Policy Center. Many families are already struggling with medical debt, he said. Unlike doing without a new blender, people who forgo care can suffer or die, he said. While there have been significant improvements in the past 15 years under the Affordable Care Act, which significantly expanded Medicaid, 'we're not a country where health care is affordable,' said Sara R. Collins, a health economist who is vice president for health care coverage and access for the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund. Even when people have insurance, many do not have sufficient coverage to pay their medical bills. If the hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts go through that Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration are considering, the number of people who will not able to afford care is likely to climb, she said, as millions of people lose their coverage or replace it with less generous plans. 'We're getting back to levels that existed before the Affordable Care Act,' she said.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
31 million Americans borrowed money for health care last year: Poll
More than 31 million Americans borrowed money last year to pay for health care, a new survey found. Those Americans borrowed about $74 billion, despite most of them have some form of health insurance, the West Health-Gallup survey found. Most of the borrowers were ages 18-29, 30-39 and 40-49. Just two percent of Americans who borrowed were over 65 years old. 'Too many Americans are racking up medical debt whether they have health insurance or not,' Tim Lash, West Health Policy Center president, said in a statement. 'A high-priced healthcare system that requires Americans to take out loans or make painful tradeoffs just to stay healthy is in desperate need of policy reform or things will get even worse.' The survey found that Black and Hispanic Americans were 'significantly' more likely to have borrowed than white adults. Twenty-three percent of Black respondents said they borrowed for health care over the last year, while 16 percent of Hispanic adults borrowed. Just 9 percent of white adults borrowed funds for healthcare. Most Americans, 58 percent, say they are at least somewhat concerned that a major health event will put them in debt. The survey noted that the concerns span income levels. 'It is clear that high healthcare costs continue to burden the American people, and financial insecurity around care is not limited to any one demographic,' Dan Witters, director of wellbeing research at Gallup, said in a statement. The West Health-Gallup survey was conducted Nov. 11-18, 2024, among 3,583 respondents and has a margin of error of 2.1 percentage points. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
05-03-2025
- Health
- The Hill
31 million Americans borrowed money for health care last year: Poll
More than 31 million Americans borrowed money last year to pay for health care, a new survey found. Those Americans borrowed about $74 billion, despite most of them have some form of health insurance, the West Health-Gallup survey found. Most of the borrowers were ages 18-29, 30-39 and 40-49. Just two percent of Americans who borrowed were over 65 years old. 'Too many Americans are racking up medical debt whether they have health insurance or not,' Tim Lash, West Health Policy Center president, said in a statement. 'A high-priced healthcare system that requires Americans to take out loans or make painful tradeoffs just to stay healthy is in desperate need of policy reform or things will get even worse.' The survey found that Black and Hispanic Americans were 'significantly' more likely to have borrowed than white adults. Twenty-three percent of Black respondents said they borrowed for health care over the last year, while 16 percent of Hispanic adults borrowed. Just 9 percent of white adults borrowed funds for healthcare. Most Americans, 58 percent, say they are at least somewhat concerned that a major health event will put them in debt. The survey noted that the concerns span income levels. 'It is clear that high healthcare costs continue to burden the American people, and financial insecurity around care is not limited to any one demographic,' Dan Witters, director of wellbeing research at Gallup, said in a statement. The West Health-Gallup survey was conducted Nov. 11-18, 2024, among 3,583 respondents and has a margin of error of 2.1 percentage points.
