Despite Insurance Gains, More in US Can't Afford Doctors
A growing number of Americans find it too expensive to see doctors even though more people have health insurance, a U.S. study suggests.
Over the past two decades, the proportion of adults without insurance dropped to 14.8% from 16.9%, the study found. But during this same period, the proportion of adults unable to afford doctor visits climbed from 11.4% to 15.7%.
Out-of-pocket costs made doctors too expensive for the uninsured, but costs also kept people with coverage from seeing physicians even when they had chronic medical conditions requiring regular checkups.
For people with health benefits, the proportion unable to pay for doctor visits rose from 7.1% to 11.5%.
"The quality of private health insurance is getting worse, and the cost of healthcare is rising significantly," said lead study author Dr. Laura Hawks of the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
"We know that private health insurance plans increasing rely on high premiums, high-deductible health plans . . . high copays and other forms of cost-sharing," Hawks said by email. "All these create financial barriers."
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Over the past two decades, the proportion of adults without insurance dropped to 14.8% from 16.9%, the study found. But during this same period, the proportion of adults unable to afford doctor visits climbed from 11.4% to 15.7%.
Out-of-pocket costs made doctors too expensive for the uninsured, but costs also kept people with coverage from seeing physicians even when they had chronic medical conditions requiring regular checkups.
For people with health benefits, the proportion unable to pay for doctor visits rose from 7.1% to 11.5%.
"The quality of private health insurance is getting worse, and the cost of healthcare is rising significantly," said lead study author Dr. Laura Hawks of the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
"We know that private health insurance plans increasing rely on high premiums, high-deductible health plans . . . high copays and other forms of cost-sharing," Hawks said by email. "All these create financial barriers."
More
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