According to a recent Gallup poll, a significant number of U.S. adults reported that they or a family member had to postpone medical care in the past year because of concerns about affordability.
In 2022, a significant increase of 12 percentage points was observed in the number of Americans who chose to forgo treatment due to financial concerns. This figure is twice as high as the percentage reported in 2001, a time when the Affordable Care Act had not yet been implemented to reduce the number of uninsured individuals in the country.
This marks the highest percentage ever recorded in Gallup’s 22-year history of monitoring self-reported delays in medical care caused by financial constraints.
According to an article by Gallup, the second half of 2022 saw a significant increase in the number of Americans facing financial difficulties due to high inflation. As a result, many individuals reported having to postpone medical care, both for general check-ups and for serious conditions.
The article stated that in 2022, individuals in the United States who had an annual household income below $40,000 were almost twice as likely as those with an income of $100,000 or more to report that a family member had postponed medical treatment for a serious condition (34% vs. 18%, respectively).
Last week, the Bureau of Labour Statistics released a report stating that consumer prices in December were 6.5% higher compared to the previous year. This indicates a slower annual growth rate compared to the peak of 9.1% in June 2022. Prices experienced a slight decrease of 0.1% on a monthly basis, marking the first decline since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
Although medical service prices have increased by approximately 4.1% in the past year, they have not experienced the same significant rise as food prices (up 10.4%) and shelter costs (up 7.5%), as reported by Labour Department statistics.
However, many American adults may still be hesitant to spend money on essential care, possibly due to the already high costs of healthcare even before the recent increase in inflation rates. Planning for health-care costs can be challenging as patients often remain unaware of the price of care until after they have already received treatment.
According to a recent survey conducted by Gallup, individuals who have lower incomes, fall within the age range of 18 to 49, or identify as women were found to be more inclined to delay seeking treatment.
In 2022, a significant number of Americans chose to postpone seeking treatment for serious conditions, while a smaller percentage did the same for less severe ailments. Approximately 27% of respondents admitted to avoiding care for something that was considered somewhat or very serious, in contrast to the 11% who delayed care for a condition that was not deemed very serious.
