A shocking 92 percent of US adults not going to the doctor because it’s too expensive
www.independent.co.uk
The decision to delay medical care involves multiple factors, including gender - women are more likely to put off care than men

Some 92 percent have delayed or abandoned medical care because of costs, according to a survey of 1,507 U.S.adults by financial services firm JG Wentworth.

High prices at the doctor’s office, urgent care, emergency room and more have led to 85 percent of Americans having medical debt. Collectively, American consumers have $220 billion in medical debt, according to a February poll from KFF - that’s around $958.61 per adult with medical debt.

Nearly one in five adults said their health got worse because they skipped a doctor’s visit. That problem is more acute for those 64 and younger - 42 percent say their health got worse after putting off a medical visit.

  • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml
    2·
    3 hours ago

    American healthcare is expensive enough that a significant minority of Americans are delaying needed care because they cannot afford it

    Is this not too strong wording to the point where it may be downplaying it?

    Would it be safer to say American healthcare is expensive enough that a significant number of Americans are delaying needed care because they cannot afford it?

    • mechoman444@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 hours ago

      Yes, that would also be true. I was just trying to be as concise as possible.

      The problem with American healthcare isn’t simply that healthcare is expensive, or even that people aren’t receiving it. The deeper problem is that we’ve built healthcare into a predominantly profit-driven corporate system.

      And to be clear, I don’t have a problem with people making money from medicine. There is absolutely nothing wrong with profiting from developing a revolutionary medical technology, discovering a new treatment, manufacturing equipment, or creating a drug that genuinely improves people’s lives. Innovation requires investment, and investment requires the possibility of a return.

      The problem is what happens when the entire healthcare system is subjected to the same corporate incentives as every other industry: maximize revenue, minimize costs, consolidate market power, increase shareholder returns, and treat the patient as a revenue source.

      Healthcare isn’t a normal consumer product. When you need a refrigerator, you can decide whether you want to buy one. When you’re having a heart attack, you don’t exactly have the luxury of shopping around for the best deal.

      That’s where the fundamental problem lies. It’s not that healthcare is allowed to make money. It’s that we’ve allowed profit maximization to become one of the primary organizing principles of a system where the consumer often has virtually no ability to negotiate, comparison-shop, or simply walk away.