One in 20 Americans said they skipped out on medical care they needed last year because they could not afford it, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found, according to The Washington Post.
The percentage of people skipping medical care for cost reasons had hit nearly 7 percent in 2009 and 2010, according to the report. But in 2014, the lowest percentage of people in 16 years — 4.4 percent — avoided medical care because of cost, according to CDC's National Health Interview Survey.
The survey, conducted among people of all ages between January and March 2015, does not offer an explanation of why fewer people are avoiding medical care because of costs, but the shrinking percentage coincides with two significant changes: increased access and affordability of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and the expansion of Medicaid in some states. At the same time, the economy is recovering from the Great Recession, so more people have jobs.