By: David Ostrowsky
The numbers are simply too grim to ignore.
Not even a month ago, on April 4, the results of the West Health and Gallup poll survey, conducted from mid-November to late December last year, were published, revealing that quality, affordable healthcare eludes 35 percent of Americans (representing some 91 million adults), a four-point jump from 2023 and the highest mark since 2021. Meanwhile, approximately 29 million Americans, or 11% of those surveyed, reported that they lacked the means to afford medication and care as recently as over the past three months. Just as unnerving—but most certainly not surprising—is that the disheartening trend has been most prominent among lower-income individuals (those who belong to families earning less than $24,000 per year) as well as Hispanic and Black Americans; conversely, there has been negligible change in this regard among mid- to high-income earners and whites. Hence, one reason why there is the ever-widening healthcare social disparity plaguing our nation.
Not that it provides any sense of relief to the millions having to choose between paying their electric bills or backlog of medical co-pays, but in its report, West Health and Gallup provide some useful context by rationalizing that there are essentially three categories into which American healthcare consumers can be classified:
In a nutshell, the West Health and Gallup report concluded that, based on these classifications, the gap between those Americans who can access and afford quality healthcare, essentially half the nation, and those who lack the basic resources to do so – the other half of our country’s population – has widened significantly. Of course, lower-earning Americans have always struggled to afford healthcare but the relentless forces of consumer and medical inflation, lingering drug shortages, and escalating rates of Medicaid disenrollment thanks to the expiration of the continuous enrollment provision and significant cutbacks to Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment have pushed so many financially insecure individuals to the brink. In contrast, these recent trends have had negligible adverse effects, if any, on so many Americans who have the means to afford robust health services.
Socio-economic concerns aside, the erosion of so many Americans’ wherewithal to consume healthcare presents grave practical implications for the country. Per recent research from West Health and Gallup, American adults borrowed nearly $74 billion last year to pay off healthcare-related debts while close to 60% of U.S. adults reported being “somewhat” or “very” concerned about taking on debt following a major medical event. Given the current economic climate in which interest rates remain stubbornly high, taking out significant bank loans to pay down debt does not augur well for the average American household’s financial welfare. If Americans have to invest so much into just one facet of their lives, albeit an extremely important one, it naturally means there’s less funds available for higher education, home improvements, and travel and leisure among other services that comprise a strong national economy. Put another way, the increasing percentage of what West Health and Gallup refer to as “Cost Desperate Americans” serves as further indisputable proof that the financial strain and subsequent high levels of stress experienced by healthcare consumers in the U.S. – including those who are not just underinsured but feel compelled to remain in an undesirable job solely for the health benefits -- continues to be a dire nationwide problem.
While West Health and Gallup poll results and accompanying report thoroughly addressed healthcare access and affordability, there was scant mention of another vital part of the equation: health insurance access and affordability. Which, is of course, a discussion for another blog.