Study Says 41 Percent of Americans Struggle to Pay Medical Debt

By John Clark

During the last 12 months, 41 percent of adults between the ages of 19 and 64 had trouble paying medical debt, or were paying off debt over a long period of time, according to a report from the Dallas Morning News.

Sources say the data was collected during a survey led by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that lobbies for health care reform.

High Number of American Families Burdened With Medical Debt

Medical debt, which is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the United States, has long been identified as a serious problem, but the Commonwealth Fund study shows just how dangerous it has become.

In addition to the 41 percent of Americans struggling to pay their hospital bills, 29 percent of Americans were found to be carrying more than $4,000 in medical debt, a figure that the survey labeled ?substantial.?

In addition, roughly 16 percent of Americans reported having more than $8,000 in medical debt, and a healthy percentage of these people carried tens of thousands in unpaid bills, according to sources.

And the survey wasn?t a sloppy affair. Sources say it was conducted over the course of three months using telephone interviews with more than 4,000 adults who were selected at random.

According to Sara Collins, a vice president at the Commonwealth Fund, the most common reasons for the increase in medical debt include poor insurance coverage, gaps in health insurance, and higher costs for routine medical services.

Congress Tries to Address Skyrocketing Medical Bills

While more and more Americans go bankruptcy due to medical bills, Congress has made some efforts to address the problem. The Affordable Care Act, which will be fully implemented next year, has offered some aid.

For example, a provision that allows adult children to stay on their parents? insurance plans until the age of 26 has expanded coverage for young adults, which is a ?major reversal in terms of the trends that we?ve seen among young adults over time,? according to Collins.

In addition, the new health care law will, in theory, allow millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans to improve their coverage.

And, according to Collins, once these people get adequate health coverage, ?they?re obviously going to have financial protection and they?re not going to be hit with these catastrophic bills.?

But the efficacy of the new law has yet to be seen, so millions of Americans may continue to struggle under the weight of excessive medical bills in the near future.

Source: http://www.clearbankruptcy.com/blog/study-says-41-percent-of-americans-struggle-to-pay-medical-debt/

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