The Federal Reserve recently released its Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022, which found that slightly more than one out of four Americans went without some kind of medical care because of the high cost.
Twenty-three percent of adults had major, unexpected medical expenses in the prior 12 months, with the median amount between $1,000 and $1,999. Sixteen percent of adults had debt from their own medical care or that of a family member.
The likelihood of skipping medical care because of cost was strongly related to family income. Among those with family income less than $25,000, 38 percent went without some medical care because they could not afford it, compared with 11 percent of adults making $100,000 or more.
Why this matters: United Way’s ALICE report found that 46% of our households in Escambia County live either paycheck-to-paycheck or in poverty.
When patients skip healthcare to cut costs, dental care is usually the first thing to go, the report, which was based on 2022 data, showed. That’s followed by foregoing visits to the doctor, poor medication adherence, skipping follow-up care, and cutting out mental healthcare visits.
Dig Deeper: Community Health Northwest Florida is a significant part of the solution.
On WCOA this morning, Community Health CEO Chandra Smiley said, “At Community Health, we’re here to take care of anyone who needs healthcare services. We don’t want anyone to forego those wellness visits or those primary care visits or getting those prescriptions filled because we know that access to healthcare and staying on top of that will avoid complications down the road.”
