Healthcare Often Forces Patients to Make Financial Sacrifices

Many American adults make personal financial sacrifices and miss appointments to cope with the high costs of healthcare, according to a West Health-Gallup Poll..

Due to high and consistent costs, healthcare occupies an ample budget space for many people. Oftentimes, these high expenses lead to financial sacrifices, especially for members of low-income and underserved communities.

To gather information regarding the struggles that these populations face, West Health and Gallup conducted a poll containing questions regarding income and personal life withdrawals. The researchers noted that the results came from June 2022, when inflation hit a new 40-year high of 9.1 percent.

Thirty-eight percent of the total adult population (98 million people) made changes related to appointments or spending on food or utilities. Researchers also noticed that statistics fluctuated with income, as those with lower socioeconomic status faced more issues.

For example, 21 percent of people with an income of less than $24,000 skipped a meal, compared to the 2 percent of those making more than $180,000 yearly who did so. The study also found that about 26 percent of respondents reported that prices led them to not engage in any healthcare practices.

Women were also slightly more likely than men to reduce healthcare, at 36 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

Although those backed by higher financial stability face fewer consequences, they are never entirely avoidable.

“People have been making tradeoffs to pay for healthcare for years. Inflation has only made things worse as people are also now struggling with the high price of gas, food, and electricity,” Timothy A. Lash, president of West Health, said in a press release.

“However, unlike those expenses, Congress has the power right now to reduce healthcare prices, particularly for prescription drugs. Legislation is on the table.”

Although the ability to address inflation’s impact on healthcare spending rests in Congress’s hands, consumers across party lines are pessimistic about the likelihood that the legislative branch will act.

Rising healthcare costs have a pervasive influence, affecting various populations in many ways.

For example, a MedicarePlans.com survey from February 2022 indicated that Medicare Part B premiums led beneficiaries to financial struggles. Researchers made this conclusion following a survey in which many respondents reported to have experienced difficulty handling expenses.

Polling from August 2022 also stated that compared to White people, Black people experienced poor patient access due to inflation. Black respondents reported  struggling to cover their prescription costs and also cited the impact that inflation has had on social determinants of health factors, particularly housing and food affordability.