Data Note: Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs – Appendices – 9316 | KFF

Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues

Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues

Support our work

Twitter Facebook Instagram Email

Data Note: Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

Ashley Kirzinger Follow @AshleyKirzinger on Twitter , Cailey Muñana, Bryan Wu, and Mollyann Brodie Follow @Mollybrodie on Twitter
Published: Jun 11, 2019

Table A.1: Worries about Affording Basic Needs by Socioeconomic Status
	Total	Gender			Income				Race/Ethnicity
		Men	Women		<$40K	$40K–$89.9K	$90K+		White	Black	Hisp.
Percent who say they are “very worried” or “somewhat worried” about being able to afford … for them and their family: (August 2018)
…unexpected medical bills	67%	63%		71%	75%	68%	55%	63%		70%		83%
…their health insurance deductible*	53	49		57	61	52	42	52		47		67
…gasoline or other transportation costs	46	46		46	64	43	25	39		52		65
…their prescription drug costs	44	39		49	55	41	32	41		37		64
…their monthly utilities like electricity or heat	43	39		46	62	38	20	35		50		66
…their monthly health insurance premium*	42	42		42	52	40	30	39		46		54
…their rent or mortgage	41	37		44	56	41	22	32		50		68
…food	36	34		38	54	35	13	29		39		62
NOTE: *Among insured adults.

Table A.2: Worries about Affording Basic Needs by Health Status and Health Insurance Status
	Total	Health Insurance and Age			Health Status
	Total	Insured, 18-64	Uninsured, 18-64	65+	Excellent/Very good/Good	Fair/Poor
Percent who say they are “very worried” or “somewhat worried” about being able to afford … for them and their family: (August 2018)
…unexpected medical bills	67%	69%	76%	55%	65%	76%
…their health insurance deductible*	53	55	–	47	50	64
…gasoline or other transportation costs	46	45	57	42	40	64
…their prescription drug costs	44	41	56	46	37	69
…their monthly utilities like electricity or heat	43	39	60	40	37	60
…their monthly health insurance premium*	42	42	–	41	38	56
…their rent or mortgage	41	42	61	24	37	56
…food	36	33	57	33	30	56
NOTE: *Among insured adults.

Table A.3: Problems Paying Health Care Costs Vary by Socioeconomic Status
	Total	Gender		Income			Race/Ethnicity
	Total	Men	Women	<$40K	$40K–$89.9K	$90K+	White	Black	Hisp.
AMONG THOSE WHO HAVE INSURANCE: Percent who say they have difficulty affording to pay… (June 2019)
…the deductible they pay before insurance kicks in	34%	29%	38%	49%	29%	24%	32%	–	38%
…the cost of health insurance each month	28	25	31	40	22	22	28	–	22
…co-pays for doctor visits and prescription drugs	24	18	28	40	18	12	21	–	29
Percent who say they or a household member had problems paying medical bills in the past year: (March 2019)
	26%	22%	29%	38%	26%	10%	23%	34%	31%
AMONG THOSE WHO CURRENTLY TAKE ANY PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE: Percent who say it is difficult for them to afford to pay the cost of their prescription medicine: (February 2019)
	24%	22%	25%	35%	21%	11%	21%	–	–

Table A.4: Problems Paying Health Care Costs Vary by Health Status and Health Insurance Status
	Total	Health Insurance and Age			Health Status		Serious Medical Condition in Household
	Total	Insured, 18-64	Uninsured, 18-64	65+	Excellent/Very good/Good	Fair/Poor	Yes	No
AMONG THOSE WHO HAVE INSURANCE: Percent who say they have difficulty affording to pay… (June 2019)
…the deductible they pay before insurance kicks in	34%	35%	–	28%	31%	51%	–	–
…the cost of health insurance each month	28	28	–	29	26	40	–	–
…co-pays for doctor visits and prescription drugs	24	23	–	25	20	47	–	–
Percent who say they or a household member had problems paying medical bills in the past year: (March 2019)
	26%	25%	45%	15%	24%	35%	39%	22%
AMONG THOSE WHO CURRENTLY TAKE ANY PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE: Percent who say it is difficult for them to afford to pay the cost of their prescription medicine: (February 2019)
	24%	22%	–	23%	14%	49%	–	–

Table A.5: Shares Reporting Receiving Treatment for a Serious Medical Condition
Percent of 18-64-year-olds who report currently receiving medical treatment for any of the following medical conditions: (March 2019)	Individual receiving treatment	Family member in household receiving treatment	Individual or Family member in household receiving treatment
A serious mental health illness like depression, bipolar disease, or schizophrenia	15	15	21
Diabetes	11	13	18
Heart disease	5	6	9
Stroke	2	2	3
Cancer	2	3	4
Any of the above	26%	28%	38%

Table A.6: Postponing or Delaying Care Because of Costs by Socioeconomic Status
	Total	Gender			Income					Race/Ethnicity
		Men	Women		<$40K	$40K–$89.9K		$90K+		White	Black	Hisp.
Percent who say that in the past year they or a family member… (March 2019)
…skipped dental care or checkups	30%	26%		34%	45%		31%	14%	28%		31%		37%
…relied on home remedies or OTC drugs instead of going to see a doctor	31	29		33	38		36	19	30		26		40
…put off or postponed getting health care they needed	26	24		28	31		31	18	25		23		33
…skipped a recommended medical test or treatment	21	17		24	25		23	13	19		21		24
…had problems getting mental health care	12	9		14	15		13	7	13		10		9
Percent who did any of the above	51	47		56	62		56	36	50		54		54
Percent who say the condition got worse as a result	13	11		15	18		15	5	13		15		10

Table A.7: Postponing or Delaying Care by Health Status and Health Insurance Status
	Total	Health Insurance and Age				Health Status		Serious Medical Condition in Household
	Total	Insured, 18–64		Uninsured, 18–64	65+	Excellent/ Very good/ Good	Fair/Poor	Yes	No
Percent who say that in the past year they or a family member… (March 2019)
…skipped dental care or checkups	30%	29%	47%		22%	29%	36%	41%	27%
…relied on home remedies or OTC drugs instead of going to see a doctor	31	31	57		15	31	33	40	33
…put off or postponed getting health care they needed	26	26	50		12	26	29	35	27
…skipped a recommended medical test or treatment	21	20	40		12	19	27	27	20
…had problems getting mental health care	12	13	19		4	11	12	19	11
Percent who did any of the above	51	52	76		35	50	61	64	50
Percent who say the condition got worse as a result	13	13	25		6	12	19	23	9

Table A.8: Public’s Struggles with Health Care Over Time
Percent who say they…	…had problems paying medical bills in the past year	…put off any type of care due to cost in the past year*	…are worried about affording needed care	…are very worried about affording needed care
March 2010	30%	57%	58%	29%
March 2011	23	52	52	20
May 2012	26	58	48	25
September 2013	–	57	60	33
December 2013	28	–	–	–
November 2015	23	–	–	–
January 2016	–	50	56	28
December 2016	–	51	50	25
February 2017	29	–	–	–
June 2017	28	–	–	–
April 2018	27	–	–	–
June 2018	25	–	–	–
March 2019	26	51	–	–
NOTE: *Includes those who say yes to doing at least one of the following due to costs: skipping dental care or checkups, relying on home remedies or over-the-counter drugs instead of going to see a doctor, putting off or postponing getting health care they needed, skipping a recommended medical test or treatment, not filling a prescription for a medicine, cutting pills in half or skipping doses, or having problems getting mental health care.

Findings

Topics

Health Costs

Tags