Individuals face roadblocks in buying health insurance

According to the Commonwealth Fund, difficulty getting health coverage — combined with rising treatment costs and high unemployment levels — triggered a jump in the number of Americans who struggle to pay their medical expenses.

Reuters: Health Coverage Still Tough To Get For Individuals
Nearly three quarters of those seeking health insurance in the U.S. individual market in recent years faced roadblocks or were turned down due to prior medical conditions, a report released on Wednesday said. The report by the Commonwealth Fund, a health care advocacy group, said 71 percent of an estimated 26 million people who tried to buy insurance on the individual market in the previous three years had problems purchasing affordable insurance. About 35 percent said they were turned down or charged higher prices because of their medical history (Smith, 3/16).

Modern Healthcare: Economic Crisis Meant Loss Of Coverage For Millions, Commonwealth Report Says
About 9 million adults became uninsured over the past two years, and even many with jobs saw an erosion of benefits that plunged more into medical debt and caused them to delay care, according to a new report. During the economic crisis, only a quarter of people who lost employer-sponsored health benefits found another source of coverage, according to the report by the Commonwealth Fund. An estimated 52 million Americans were uninsured sometime in 2010, according to the telephone survey of about 4,000 adults nationwide (Vesely, 3/16).

Kaiser Health News: Many Adults Struggle To Pay Medical Bills, Report Finds
Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Aimee Miles writes: "A recession-driven spike in unemployment levels, rising treatment costs and unaffordable insurance coverage caused four in 10 Americans to struggle to pay their medical bills last year, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund" (Miles, 3/16).