Josee Farmer, Health
Care Policy Intern
A
recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis of the National Health Interview
Survey results from 2011 through 2018 found that the percentage of
people who reported having had problems paying their medical bills in the
previous year decreased from 19.7 percent in 2011 to 14.2 percent in 2018 – a
drop from roughly 48.9 million people to 35.3 million. The downward trend
remains when individuals who faced medical debt are included with those who
report having had trouble paying their bills (from 32.4 percent in 2011 to 27.9
percent in 2017), according to a separate analysis by the State Health Access
Data Assistance Center. This drop is likely due in part to the Affordable Care
Act (ACA) expanding the number of people with insurance, but the data indicate
that the ACA cannot be the only reason: As the chart below shows, the rate of
individuals who had problems paying their medical bills or who faced medical
debt dropped for those with private insurance, those with public insurance, and
– most surprising – for those with no insurance (from 46.9 percent in 2011 to
42.2 percent in 2017). The declines were not uniform or consistent, but the
overall trend holds for all three groups. A number of factors could be
contributing to these declines, including increasing income levels or a
decrease in interactions with the medical system at large.
Data obtained from National
Health Interview Survey through Shadac State
Health Compare
No comments:
Post a Comment