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WASHINGTON (AP) — They have health insurance, but still no peace of mind. Overall, 1 in 4 privately insured adults say they doubt they could pay for a major unexpected illness or injury.A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research may help explain why President Barack Obama faces such strong headwinds in trying to persuade the public that his health care law is holding down costs.
The survey found the biggest financial worries among people with so-called high-deductible plans that require patients to pay a big chunk of their medical bills each year before insurance kicks in.
Such plans already represented a growing share of employer-sponsored coverage. Now, they're also the mainstay of the new health insurance exchanges created by Obama's law.
Edward Frank of Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, said he bought a plan with a $6,000 deductible last year through HealthCare.gov. That's in the high range, since deductibles for popular silver plans on the insurance exchanges average about $3,100 — still a lot.
"Unless you get desperately ill and in the hospital for weeks, it's going to cost you more to have this plan and pay the premiums than to pay the bill just outright," said Frank, who ended up paying $4,000 of his own money for treatment of shoulder pain.
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The poll found that people respond to the hit on their wallets in ways that may not help their health:
— Nineteen percent of all privately insured adults said they did not go to the doctor when they were sick or injured, because of costs. Among those with high-deductible plans, the figure was 29 percent.
— Seventeen percent skipped a recommended test or treatment; it was 23 percent among those with high-deductible plans.
— Eighteen percent of all adults went without a physical exam or other preventive care, 24 percent among those with high-deductible plans.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/41df6bca84b8454cb059ffe9bef9e222/poll-many-insured-struggle-medical-bills
Hmmmm....Seems those of us opposed to this disaster of a law said this sort of thing would happen, and oh, look....it is happening...This is making our system worse.