Poll finds health costs among top economic woes

The poll examines the economic concerns facing Americans and the ways they have dealt with the cost of health care. Click here for the full results of the poll.

Other economic pressures cited in the poll are:

• Gas prices (44 percent);

• Finding good jobs or getting pay raises (29 percent);

• Serious problems making mortgage or rent payments (19 percent);

• Dealing with credit cards or other personal debt (18 percent);

• Paying for food (18 percent); and

• Losing money in the stock market (16 percent).

According to the survey, reports of serious economic problems stretch to middle-income families, with almost 30 percent earning up to $75,000 and reporting serious problems paying for health coverage or care.

The ripple effect

The survey shows that health care costs also are affecting other areas of family budgets.

In a separate series of questions asking about the personal economic consequences of medical bills, 37 percent report at least one of six financial troubles during the past five years as a result of medical bills: having difficulties paying other bills (20 percent); being contacted by a collections agency (20 percent); using up all or most of their savings (17 percent); being unable to pay for basic necessities such as food, heat or housing (12 percent); borrowing money (10 percent); or declaring bankruptcy (3 percent).

“Many people view health and the economy as separate issues, but the cost of health care is a significant pocketbook issue for many families, and paying for health care has become a key dimension of the public’s economic concerns,” Kaiser President and CEO Drew E. Altman said in a news release.

Big decisions

The poll shows that health benefits play a key role in people’s decisions to switch jobs or stay in their current positions. Nearly one-quarter of respondents say that, within the past year, they or a member of their household have either taken a new job or stuck with their current job primarily because of better health benefits.

Health coverage also was found to be a factor in some people’s decisions to get married. Among respondents, 7 percent said that, in the past year, they or someone in their household decided to get married in order to have access to their spouse’s health care benefits, or so their spouse could have access to their benefits.

Doing without care

The high cost of health care also caused a significant number of Americans to delay or go without medical care altogether. When asked about the impact of costs on their families’ health care, many said that, within the past year, they or a family member living in their household have experienced at least one of five specific consequences due to cost.

Specifically, 29 percent postponed needed care; 24 percent skipped a recommended test or treatment; 23 percent didn’t fill a prescription; 19 percent cut pills in half or skipped medication doses; and 8 percent had problems getting mental health care.

Kaiser also released the results of its April Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008, the seventh in a series tracking voters’ views about where health care fits as an issue in the 2008 presidential election, as well as their views on potential approaches to health reform. The latest survey finds voters are most likely to name the economy as one of the two most important issues for the candidates to discuss, followed by Iraq and health care. The three issues rank in the same order among Democrats, Republicans and independents, the release said.