Americans with and without health insurance are increasingly finding health care too expensive to see a doctor in a timely manner, according to a new study.

 

In 2000, one out of eight adults said they had “unmet medical” needs due to cost issues. As of 2010, the ratio had increased to one in five Americans.

 

Among the 41 million uninsured, about one third of them delayed getting care due to costs in 2010, compared to 25% in 2000.

 

The study, published in Health Affairs, also reported people were having a harder time accessing dental care.

 

The federal health care reform law, which faces a legal challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court next month, “won’t necessarily solve all those access problems,” wrote Kaiser Health News. This is due to the fact that the law “may not alter the trend toward private insurance policies with larger deductibles and higher co-payments or address some of the barriers within public coverage.”

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Health Care Increasingly Out of Reach for Millions of Americans (by Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News)

Virtually Every State Experienced Deteriorating Access to Care for Adults  over the Past Decade (by Genevieve M. Kenney, Stephen Zuckerman, Dana Goin and Stacey McMorrow, Urban Institute)

Health Insurance Costs Rising Much Faster than Wages (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)