Americans spend more on health care than any other nation. Yet almost half can't afford care.

Protest outside UnitedHealthcare headquarters ends in arrests

Americans spend more money on health care on a per capita basis than people in any other developed nation, yet almost half say they've struggled recently to pay for medical treatment or prescription drugs, according to a new study from Gallup and West Health. 

About 45% of those polled by the organizations said they'd recently had to skip treatment or medicine either because of cost or lack of easy access. Of those, about 8% said they also wouldn't have access to affordable care if they required it today, a group that Gallup and West Health termed "cost desperate."

While 55% of Americans are "cost secure," meaning they can afford care and medicine, that's a decline from 61% who fell into that category in 2022, the study found. 

More people are struggling with health care costs partly due to higher inflation as well as a long-term trend toward insurance plans with higher deductibles and less comprehensive coverage, Tim Lash, president of West Health, a nonprofit group focused promoting affordable medical care, told CBS MoneyWatch. About 94% of those surveyed believe they or Americans in general are paying too much for health care and not getting their money's worth. 

"We see individuals and families making decisions that no one should have to make, from, 'Should I go on vacation or do I pay for health care and medication,' or at the worst, 'How do I ration my food to afford my prescriptions?'" Lash said. "As the wealthiest and most developed country, that's not where we should be."

Americans spend an average of $12,555 per person annually on health care, according to the Peterson-KFF Health Care Tracker. By comparison, typical health care spending across other developed nations is about $6,651, their analysis found. 

"What we found as we string together the trend of data points is really quite concerning," Lash said. "It's that health care affordability has been getting worse — it shines a light on the number of families that can't afford things like prescription drugs."

Rising insurance costs

The average family insurance deductible in the U.S. stood at about $3,800 in 2022, up from $2,500 in 2013, according to KFF. The IRS considers insurance for families with deductibles of $3,200 or more to be high deductible plans.

Americans with health care insurance are also struggling to afford coverage, with some complaining that their insurers are putting up roadblocks to gaining access to care. On Monday, for example, demonstrators outside of UnitedHealthcare headquarters protested what they allege is the company's practice of refusing to approve care through prior authorization denials or through claim denials. 

"Health insurance coverage has expanded in America, but we are finding it is private health insurance corporations themselves that are often the largest barrier for people to receive the care they and their doctor agree they need," Aija Nemer-Aanerud, campaign director with the People's Action Institute, told CBS Minnesota. 

A spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare told CBS Minnesota it had resolved the issues raised by protesters. 

The Gallup-West Health study also found that bigger gaps in affordability for some demographics, with Black and Hispanic people more likely to face problems in paying for medical treatment or prescriptions. Older Americans between 50 to 64 — those who don't yet qualify for Medicare, which kicks in at 65 — are also facing more challenges, the study found. 

"For me, there is an opportunity in the data — this clearly demonstrate this is a pain point that isn't acceptable," Lash said. "I'm hopeful we can leverage theses types of results to engage in meaningful reform."

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• Health Care

Aimee Picchi

Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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