1 in 5 Insured Americans Had Problems Paying Medical Bills

Kaiser Family Foundation and the New York Times recently conducted a survey on medical bill difficulty for both the insured and uninsured. Here are some key findings from the report:

·         1 in 5 working-age insured Americans report having problems paying medical bills in the past year.

·         Of these, 63% report using all or most of their savings to pay the medical bills.

·         42% of the insured with medical bill problems report taking extra hours or a second job.

·         Among the insured with problem medical bills, 26% received unexpected claim denials.

·         32% say they received care from an out-of-network provider that their insurance wouldn't cover.

·         Half (53%) of uninsured Americans face problems with medical bills.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, January 5, 2015