Tough Trade-offs: Medical Bills, Family Finances and Access to Care

About 20 million American families--representing 43 million people--reported problems paying medical bills in 2003, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). While uninsured families are more likely to have medical bill problems, two-thirds of families with prob...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2004
Main Authors: May, Jessica H, Cunningham, Peter J
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Center for Studying Health System Change
Children & youth/Families & family life
Health care policy
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:About 20 million American families--representing 43 million people--reported problems paying medical bills in 2003, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). While uninsured families are more likely to have medical bill problems, two-thirds of families with problems paying medical bills have health insurance coverage. Of all families with medical bill problems, almost two-thirds reported difficulty paying for other basic necessities--rent, mortgage payments, transportation or food--as a result of medical debt. People in families with medical bill problems also reported much greater trouble getting care because of cost concerns--one in three did not get a prescription drug, one in four delayed care and one in eight went without needed care.