General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCost Still a Barrier Between Americans and Medical Care
One in three Americans say they have put off getting medical treatment that they or their family members need because of cost. Although this percentage is in line with the roughly 30% figures seen in recent years, it is among the highest readings in the 14-year history of Gallup asking the question.
Last year, many hoped that the opening of the government healthcare exchanges and the resulting increase in the number of Americans with health insurance would enable more people to seek medical treatment. But, despite a drop in the uninsured rate, a slightly higher percentage of Americans than in previous years report having put off medical treatment, suggesting that the Affordable Care Act has not immediately affected this measure.
The percentage of Americans with private health insurance who report putting off medical treatment because of cost has increased from 25% in 2013 to 34% in 2014.
This year, 22% of Americans say they have put off medical treatment for a "very" or "somewhat serious" condition.
One of the goals of opening the government exchanges was to enable more Americans to get health insurance to help cover the costs of needed medical treatments. While many Americans have gained insurance, there has been no downturn in the percentage who say they have had to put off needed medical treatment because of cost
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/upshot/underinsurance-remains-big-problem-under-obama-health-law.html
The A.C.A. has not done as much as many had hoped it would to reduce underinsurance. In fact, it may be helping to spread it. And proposed modifications to the law, like those that would introduce a new tier of copper plans in addition to bronze, silver, gold and platinum, might make underinsurance worse.
The point of having insurance is to be able to get care when you need it, without too large a financial burden. Underinsured Americans are not receiving this benefit, though. They cant get the care they need. Twenty-seven percent of adults with a deductible large enough to render them underinsured didnt see the doctor when they were sick; 23 percent didnt get a preventive care test; 29 percent skipped a test, treatment or follow-up appointment; and 22 percent didnt see a specialist to whom they were referred. Forty percent of them had at least one of these cost-related access problems.
These are people who had private health insurance for the full year. They are not the uninsured.
In the quest for universal coverage, its important that we not lose sight of coverage in order to achieve universal. The point of improving access is, after all, to make sure that people can get, and afford, care when they need it.
Comment by Don McCanne of PNHP: Health care reform should have eliminated underinsurance, not create more of it. The private insurance industry will not fix this problem but only compound it as it strives to keep its premiums competitive.
We need to replace the private insurers with our own single payer program. For some, Medicare is also underinsurance. We need to fix that and then provide it to everyone.
(Posted as a comment on the NYT website as a response to Aaron Carrolls article.)
Vinca
(50,854 posts)To the tune of $250 a week. They're having trouble making the rent. Worse yet, the prognosis is pretty poor and she's a young woman with kids. It's a shame we don't live in a country that makes life easier for people rather than harder.
NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)This is just another example of us allowing for profit companies to make the rules, while ACA changes the rules in our favor in some areas, the real change needed is Medicare for all.
If the entire country went on a general strike demanding
a. medicare for all
b. $15 minimum wage nationwide
c. mandatory vacation and sick leave and maternity paid leave
d. lift the cop soc sec
e. raise taxes on the wealthy and corps and punish those companies that dont manufacture here
Pretty simple really, just takes WILL
NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)If this study refers to inability to pay deductibles and copays then that makes sense, all the more reason to go to
SINGLE PAYER
But someone having insurance with deductibles is FAR better than having no deductible because you have
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)when you live hand-to-mouth...paycheck-to-paycheck, ANY "extra" expense can be devastating..
It's nice to think that people will just go to the doctor, but if you have a $20 co pay and are charged a fee for labs (every doctor wants labs)..and then another copay for meds.. You are out a fast $100 easy..
Poor folks just do not have an extra $100 laying around, waiting to be spent.
NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)zipplewrath
(16,677 posts)If it is an improvement, why are there MORE people putting off medical care even though they are insured?
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)I know seniors who have to have a supplement to Medicare to corner the 20 percent and other costs. They are paying another 250 a month. So a total of close to 500 dollars for medical a month. Can working families pay that today? Most are paying way less with ACA.
NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)40 percent to pay bills and live will not leave us with much left if we even have enough for basics.
NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)But all we have to do here is tax the rich and corps and make it impossible for them to sell something here that isnt made here.
But we as a society dont have the will to do that
Paula Sims
(910 posts)Even though I have an amazing policy under my employer, I still have to pay a huge chunk out of pocket for "experimental" tests such as determining if I have muscular dystrophy or hypokalemic partial paralysis (16k out of pocket). Both considered "experimental" although treatment would improve quality of life or life determining factors. Nope -- protesting doesn't help.
We need single payer, yes, but we also need cost controls by hospitals, labs, and other medical providers. Canada does well because they pay the higher taxes and their medical professionals accept that they're doing a service -- not getting to be God for a day.
TheKentuckian
(25,771 posts)and popular anchor point but the reality is it is just standard 80/20 with no maximum out of pocket and a boondoggle of a prescription plan added under Bush.
alarimer
(16,466 posts)Can't afford it. $70 here, $30 there. Plus 20% of some things that might run into the hundreds.
Health insurance is not health care.
Medicare, with all its gaps, is still not good enough. We need a system like Britain's NHS or a single payer Canadian-style system where EVERYTHING is covered. You don't pay 20% of this, $30 of that.
eridani
(51,907 posts)That is underinsurance by any definition, and ACA has not changed that.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)a $5000 bill for deductible you cant pay or a $500,000 bill for services rendered you cant pay?
and dont say you cant pay either because that isnt true.
might take you a few years to pay the $5000 but you will never pay the other
KT2000
(20,772 posts)to pay $5,000? A person who does not pay does not get the care. If you do run up the bill, our hospital (the only one and it also owns most of the clinics too) does whatever it takes to get their money.
The actual circumstances people live with are varied. If one has no credit cards, savings account, and a fixed social security income, there are no other resources/assistance if the SS is over $999. After rent, not much left for things such as supplemental insurance and the clinics want their money upfront.
There are not always choices.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)irisblue
(33,954 posts)L0oniX
(31,493 posts)LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)if you can't pay the $5,000 deductible you will never get to the point of receiving services necessitating a half a million bill.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)It's a subject almost impossible to talk about on DU. This is key:
"While many Americans have gained insurance, there has been no downturn in the percentage who say they have had to put off needed medical treatment because of cost."
The cheerleaders want to talk about how many more people are insured, but insurance isn't health care. These plans with $6,000 per person per year deductible are virtually worthless. Even if you have a major illness/accident, that $6,000 a year with a $12,000 a year cap just means the difference between the amounts you'll get to write off in a bankruptcy. The end result is the same -- financial ruin.