CDC
National Center for Health Statistics
June 2013
Problems Paying Medical Bills: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, January 2011–June 2012
by Robin A. Cohen, Ph.D.; Whitney K. Kirzinger, M.P.H.; and Renee M. Gindi, Ph.D.
The
percentage of persons under age 65 who were in families having problems
paying medical bills decreased from 21.7% (57.8 million) in the first 6
months of 2011 to 20.3% (54.2 million) in the first 6 months of 2012.
In the first 6 months of 2012, among persons under
age 65, 36.3% of those who were uninsured, 14.0% of those who had
private coverage, and 25.6% of those who had public coverage were in
families having problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months.
(Coverage status applies only to the day of the interview.)
The “private health insurance coverage” category
includes persons who had any comprehensive private insurance plan
(including health maintenance and preferred provider organizations).
The “public health plan coverage” category includes Medicaid,
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), state-sponsored or other
government-sponsored health plans, Medicare, and military plans.
Problems paying medical bills in past 12 months—Based on the
following question: “In the past 12 months did [you/ anyone in the
family] have problems paying or were unable to pay any medical bills?
Include bills for doctors, dentists, hospitals, therapists, medication,
equipment, nursing home or home care.”
Comment: As we already knew, about
one-fifth of people under 65 are in families that have problems paying
medical bills. In the United States we are used to that. But why should
people in public plans have greater problems than those with
comprehensive private insurance?
Most people under 65 with comprehensive private
plans have incomes and can bear some limited out-of-pocket expenses for
health care, though 14 percent still have problems paying medical bills.
Most people under 65 who have public health plan coverage
qualify for those plans partly on the basis of having inadequate
incomes. Their eligibility can vary throughout the year and many of them
have intervals with no coverage at all and yet still face medical
bills. Even when they have public coverage, they often face
out-of-pocket expenses for services and products that may not be
included such as medications, dental care, physical therapy, equipment,
home care, or care obtained outside of networks (such as Medicaid
managed care). These expenses are a problem for one-fourth of those with
public coverage.
This demonstrates that it is not enough that we have
public plans that serve as safety-nets. These are unstable, fragmented,
and incomplete methods of financing health care. Even the private plans
are as well, to some extent.
Imagine how this contrasts with a system that would
cover everyone, throughout life, and with no deductibles nor
coinsurance. You simply get the care you need when you need it. Why do
we keep just imaging this? We can have such a system if enough of us
demand it.
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