About 11 percent of Americans belonged to families that struggled to pay medical bills in 2021, down from 14 percent in 2019, in a sign that COVID-19 pandemic-era efforts to expand insurance access are working, Bloomberg reported Jan. 18.
The CDC data showed that insurance significantly affected whether respondents struggled with medical debt. Among the uninsured population aged 18 to 64, 20 percent reported that their families struggled with medical bills.
The decision by some hospitals to cancel elective surgeries at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the data.