30% of Americans Cite Cost as Deterrent for Seeking Treatment

A new Gallup poll shows 30 percent of adults in the U.S. say they or a member of their family have put off seeking medical treatment because of cost in the last year. The figure has hovered around 30 percent since 2005.

The figure is up from 2002, when only 19 percent of adults said they or a family member had put off medical treatment due to its cost.

While only one-quarter of those on government or private insurance have put off care due to cost, nearly 60 percent of uninsured have done so. Americans in the 18 to 29 age bracket are also more likely to put off care.

Among those who put off treatment, nearly twice as many (19 percent) put off treatment for a serious condition rather than for a non-serious condition (11 percent). While the percentage of people who put off treatment for a non-serious condition has remained relatively stable since 2002, the percentage of people who have put off care for a serious condition has slowly increased over the last decade.

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