1-in-4 American Families Have Not Sought Medical Attention Due to Cost

NEW YORK, June 7, 2017

http://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/money-pulse-0617/

"It's very concerning that people are foregoing medical attention because of the expense," said Robin Saks Frankel, credit card analyst at Bankrate.com.  "Thirteen percent of respondents don't have any health insurance at all – a risk that could cost them.  Unexpected medical bills can lead to a huge financial burden that could take years to pay off should something go wrong."

Affordable healthcare for everyone is something the U.S. government has been working to establish for some time now, but Americans are discouraged.  More than half of Americans (56%) are worried that they might not have affordable health insurance in the future.  Generation X, ages 37-52, are most concerned (64%), followed by Baby Boomers (58%), Millennials (56%) and the Silent Generation (35%).

Although the Trump administration promises to bring a better healthcare option to U.S. citizens, Americans say they prefer the Affordable Care Act (introduced by the Obama administration in 2010) to the Republican alternative by a wide margin: 43% to 25%,overall. The results are similar across virtually all demographic groups, with the exception of political affiliation.  Notably, Republicans (54%) favor the new legislation more than Democrats (10%) or Independents (26%).

Princeton Survey Research Associates International obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,002 adults living in the continental United States. Interviews were conducted by landline (502) and cell phone (500, including 323 without a landline phone) in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from May 18-21, 2017. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.