Latest news with #TimLash
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
More Americans than ever can't afford healthcare. prescriptions, study says
The inability to pay for health care has reached a new high in the United States, a new study says. More than one-third of Americans -- an estimated 91 million people -- say they couldn't afford to access quality health care if they needed it today, according to the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index. "The rising trajectory in the inability to pay for healthcare is a disturbing trend that is likely to continue and even accelerate," said Tim Lash, president of West Health Policy Center, part of a group of nonprofit organizations focused on healthcare and aging. "Policy action at both the state and federal level is urgently needed, or even more Americans will have to go without treatment or be forced to make painful tradeoffs between paying for medical care or paying for other necessities," Lash continued in a news release. "The human and economic costs are enormous." The Healthcare Affordability Index has been tracking health care access in the U.S. since 2021, researchers said. Its latest results show that 35% of Americans could not access quality health care if they need it. Rates were even higher among Black Americans (46%) and Hispanic Americans (52%), results show. Access to health care remained stable among wealthier Americans, but declined significantly among lower-income households. About two-thirds (64%) of people earning less than $24,000 said they can't afford health care, an 11-point increase from 2023, results show. Likewise, 57% of households with an annual income between $24,000 and $48,000 said they struggle to afford health care, up 12 points from 2023. In all, about half (51%) of Americans are considered "cost secure," in that they have faced no recent difficulty affording either health care or prescriptions, researchers found. It's the lowest level observed since the index started in 2021. Hispanic Americans have experienced the greatest declines in such security, with 34% saying they have no problem affording health care - down 17 points from 2021. Black Americans experienced a 13-point drop in health care security, with 41% now saying they don't struggle with health care bills. Overall, about 11% of Americans, about 29 million people, are classified as "cost desperate" - meaning they are unable to afford either health care or prescriptions. "Healthcare affordability and access continue to erode nationally, and this issue is especially acute among Black, Hispanic, and lower-income adults," Dan Witters, a senior researcher at Gallup, said in a news release. "White adults and those in higher-income households, in contrast, remain largely insulated from these worsening trends," Witters added. "Among these groups, this is the widest gap in access to care we have recorded thus far, with many Americans experiencing increased hardship year over year." The survey was conducted online and by mail between Nov. 18 and Dec. 27 among 6,296 people 18 and older. Respondents were from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 1.6 percentage points. More information KFF has more on Americans' struggle with health care costs. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
CBS News
06-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Americans borrowed $74 billion last year to cover their health care costs
Health care is so expensive that 31 million U.S. adults, or 12%, had to borrow a total of $74 billion last year to obtain medical care, new data shows. That includes people with health insurance, making such numbers even more troubling. Almost one-third of the more than 3,500 people surveyed by Gallup and West Health, a group of nonprofit health care organizations, said they're "very concerned" that a major health event would lead to medical debt despite most of them having some form of health care coverage. The survey results underscore how exposed individuals and families can be to financial hardship just to pay for essential health care services. "What's very visible here is families are forced to take out loans and borrow to cover expensive care that is needed," Tim Lash, president of West Health, told CBS MoneyWatch. "These big numbers are concerning, but the humanity is lost in the billions and trillions as we reduce this down to what the lived experience is of the American individual and families." To avoid taking on debt, families sometimes make tradeoffs, such as purchasing fewer groceries or not paying rent in order to get the care they need, Lash added. Nearly one in five adults between the ages of 18 and 28 reported borrowing money to pay for health care, according to the survey. Only 9% of Americans between 50 and 64 and 2% of those 65 or older reported having to borrow money to obtain needed medical care. "There are a lot of disparities in terms of who borrows," Lash said. That's in part because Medicare, which is available to people who are 65 or older, provides enrollees with relatively comprehensive coverage. As of mid-2024, U.S. residents owed at least $220 billion in medical debt, according to data from the American Hospital Association. Health care bills have for years been a leading cause of personal bankruptcies. "We need reforms to find savings that can trickle down to the individual, so that these circumstances — of making what should be unnecessary tradeoffs — aren't the condition moving forward," Lash added.
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.
