Some Americans are even skipping meals to afford healthcare costs — Yes, it's that bad
The affordability crisis is a massive issue haunting millions of Americans. The cost of necessities has gone up so much in recent months that people are being forced to cut back on some of them just to save money. This even includes people skipping meals to afford healthcare costs. In fact, a recent study shows that around 80 million Americans might have to cut back on some necessities to afford healthcare costs.
Compared to other first-world countries, American healthcare costs are through the roof. However, people expect healthcare plans like Medicare to cover most of these expenses. But that has not been the case. In fact, category B medicare premiums might cost double the price over the next decade due to increasing program spending and overpayments, reads a report in Newsweek. As per a West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America survey, which had 20,000 participants, one-third (equivalent to 82 million Americans) said that they needed to make concessions elsewhere to afford healthcare costs.
According to Tim Lash, president of West Health, the crisis has hit America at a time when healthcare costs are high, and there is massive demand for the services. “It’s not just that health care is expensive,” Lash said. “It’s that we use more and more health care as Americans.” A CNN report states that even middle-income families are struggling with the surging costs of healthcare these days. In some cases, Medicare doesn’t even cover as much as one’s job-based insurance plan.
That is what Sheila Nesbit, who recently retired after a long career as a librarian, has been experiencing. Her doctor recommended new orthopedic shoes to help her with pain in her feet. However, the product cost $250 and was not covered by Medicare. So, she decided not to get them at all. That is not all. Nesbit is reportedly also looking for discount cards to afford a $90 medicine that, once again, is not covered by Medicare.
In order to save even more money, Nesbit said that she sometimes would skip lunch and not take medicines for cholesterol, asthma, and high blood pressure. To save on her power bill, she has also kept the thermostat in her home at a low setting and makes do with sweaters and blankets for heat. These are issues that are plaguing both low and middle-income households these days. It seems like no one apart from the rich is having a decent quality of life.
“Even middle-class and upper-middle-class Americans are still having to make decisions like cutting back on utilities, driving less, borrowing money to pay for health care,” Ellyn Maese, research director for the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare, said. What’s more is that the war in West Asia has shot up gas prices, adding another pressure point for such struggling families. Congress left the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies to expire at the end of last year, meaning millions will be left uninsured in the future.
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