Insured Or Not, Medical Debt On The Raise Due To COVID-19
Written by Tariq on July 21, 2021
Having trouble with medical bills, because of being infected with COVID-19? You are not alone! More than a third of insured adults and half of uninsured adults said they had an issue paying for a medical bill. The national survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund between March and June 2021 asked 5,450 working-age adults about how the pandemic affected their health insurance coverage and medical debt.
In 2005, the number of working-age Americans paying off medical debt hovered around the same rate as it is today, at 34%, according to survey data from the Commonwealth Fund. The amount of debt, however, rose 7% during the pandemic, according to a Credit Karma analysis. In an analysis of nearly 20 million Americans, they reported $45 billion of medical debt in collections.
The study also found insured rates stayed at around the same level, with the uninsured rate at 10%. The highest uninsured rates were among those with low income and Black and Hispanic adults, which had higher uninsured rate than white adults.
The Commonwealth Fund also found, among respondents with medical bill and debt problems. 35 percent used up all or most of their savings, 35 percent took on credit card debt, 27 percent had been unable to pay for basic necessities like food or rent, and 23 percent delayed education or career plans. To Read More Click Here.
Source: USA Today
