Dec 18 2012
CBS: Gallup Poll: 3 In 10 Americans Skip Medical Care Due To Cost
A record number of Americans are skipping necessary medical care because of cost, according to a new Gallup poll. The poll of more than 1,000 U.S. adults found that 32 percent of Americans say they had to put off medical care for themselves or a family member over the past year because of finances. Gallup said that's the highest percentage since Gallup began tracking this measure 12 years ago, when 19 percent of Americans said they put off medical care. "The cost of healthcare is a longstanding issue in the United States," wrote Elizabeth Mendes on Gallup's website. "The rising costs can put personal as well as public health at risk if Americans forgo treatment they need because they feel they cannot afford it" (Jaslow, 12/14).
|
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
|