A lot of Americans believe that it’s the government’s job to keep the cost of healthcare in check and that it is failing miserably at doing so, but coincidentally enough, less than one-third of individuals think to contest their healthcare bills when they receive them, according to the results of a nationwide survey.
By The Numbers: A significant portion of Americans — 30% — have contested medical bills, with a 70% success rate in reducing or dismissing them. However, awareness of the ability to contest bills or the existence of financial assistance programs is low, particularly among people of color and younger adults.
- Payment plans for medical debt are common, with mixed feelings: some are grateful, while others find them burdensome and feel pressured into agreeing to them.
- Americans attribute high health care costs to drug companies, insurance companies, and the government, with a strong consensus (84%) that it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure health care affordability.
- Nearly half of individuals don’t know that financial assistance programs are available to help them with their medical debts.
The Cost of Cancer: There is a widespread concern about the affordability of cancer treatments, with 90% worried about the debt burden on those with chronic conditions and 91% wanting policy action to protect patients from medical debt.
The Last Word: Six in 10 of those with current or past medical debt had a payment plan / installments to pay their debt. Survey respondents have mixed feelings about payment plans – 47% say they were thankful, but 26% said they found them frustrating because they locked them into payments they couldn’t afford and took a long time to pay off.
