The data note, published June 11, summarizes the foundation’s most recent polling on the issue.
Five key findings:
1. American voters identified cost as a top healthcare issue they want to hear political candidates talk about. Ahead of the 2018 general election, the foundation found that 27 percent of polled American registered voters said they want candidates to talk about reducing healthcare costs. Healthcare costs topped other healthcare issues such as increasing access or decreasing the number of uninsured people (11 percent).
2. The foundation also found in 2018 that about half of polled Americans said they are either “very worried” or “somewhat worried” about being able to afford unexpected medical bills or their health insurance deductible.
3. The most recent foundation tracking poll, from May and June, showed that at least one-fourth of insured adults said they face challenges in affording their deductible (34 percent), monthly health insurance costs (28 percent), or their copays for physician visits and prescription drugs (24 percent).
4. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they or a family member put off or skipped some healthcare or dental care in the past year due to cost, according to a March foundation poll.
5. The foundation found adult Americans living in a household where someone has a serious medical condition are more likely than those who are not living in such households to report problems paying medical bills.
Read the full data note here.
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