Health care is so expensive that 31 million U.S. adults, or 12%, had to borrow a total of $74 billion last year to obtain medical care, new data shows. That includes people with health insurance, making such numbers even more troubling.
Almost one-third of the more than 3,500 people surveyed by Gallup and West Health, a group of nonprofit health care organizations, said they’re “very concerned” that a major health event would lead to medical debt despite most of them having some form of health care coverage.
The survey results underscore how exposed individuals and families can be to financial hardship just to pay for essential health care services.
“What’s very visible here is families are forced to take out loans and borrow to cover expensive care that is needed,” Tim Lash, president of West Health, told CBS MoneyWatch. “These big numbers are concerning, but the humanity is lost in the billions and trillions as we reduce this down to what the lived experience is of the American individual and families.”
To avoid taking on debt, families sometimes make tradeoffs, such as purchasing fewer groceries or not paying rent in order to get the care they need, Lash added.