Nearly the same percentage of insured and uninsured Americans fear that a medical bill could bring with it financial hardship, according to a MITRE-Harris Poll survey.
The survey of 2,013 adults, conducted online June 24-28, focused on public understanding of and opinions on their health insurance, according to a Dec. 9 news release on the findings.
Here are key takeaways from the survey:
- Seventy-seven percent of respondents who were uninsured were concerned that a medical bill could set them back financially. The figure is nearly even with the 75 percent of insured individuals who have the same fear.
- Four in 10 insured individuals reported receiving a surprise medical bill. The most common reasons to receive a surprise bill were due to not knowing how much of a service current insurance covers (47 percent), not knowing a procedure wasn't covered at all (42 percent) or being unaware that a provider was out of network (33 percent).
- Over half of respondents (53 percent) reported only "somewhat" knowing what their current plan's benefits included. Only one third knew "completely" what was covered.
- Forty-five percent of all individuals said their health insurance provider should be responsible for making coverage easier to digest. However, younger respondents also said healthcare providers and government agencies should also help members understand their coverage.