A recent study found that those on Medicare Advantage were less likely to have problems paying medical bills compared to beneficiaries on traditional Medicare. The results of the study conducted by the CDC found the percentage of people in families that had a problem paying a medical bill decreased from nearly 20% in 2011 to 14% in 2018. Data collected showed one in seven persons under 65 was in a family having problems paying medical bills in past years.
65 and Up
Those who were 65 and older the percentage of those having trouble paying medical bills in the previous year was at 12.4% when Medicare only. That number went down to 12.3% when on Medicare & Medicaid. Seniors with only Medicare Advantage plans who had trouble ranked at 8.4% while those with private coverage was only at 5.6%.
Under 65 Problems With Medical Bills
Those under 65 had similar problems. The largest group that had medical debt problems were households without any insurance, at 27.7%. Even families with coverage struggled with the percentage falling around 20.1% with Medicaid and 11.9% struggled when holding private coverage.
Medical debt fell on some groups worse than others. The CDC found that 16.2% of children and 20.6% of non-Hispanic black individuals stated their families had problems with medical bills.
Further Problems When Faced With Medical Bills
Not being able to pay medical bills had many effects as follows:
- Significant expenses for one family member may adversely affect the whole family.
- People who are in families with problems paying medical bills may experience serious financial
consequences, such as having problems with paying for food, clothing, or
housing, and filing for bankruptcy. - Health insurance coverage status (i.e., uninsured, public coverage, or private coverage) may also impact the
ability to afford health care costs. - This report examines the characteristics of persons who live in families that have problems paying medical bills.
Problems are faced across the board. No matter your age, medical plan type, or demographic everyone is facing issues. It is important to understand that this data involves in-person interviews with roughly 35,000 U.S. households. Is there a way to find the discrepancies with the data collected so that we can help make a change?
Agents
We hope that this information on medical bill payments is useful to you.
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