Nearly half of American adults faced medical bill issues in last year – survey

High-income Americans also almost as likely to defer healthcare over cost as people with low or average incomes in other countries

High-income Americans are almost as likely to defer healthcare because of cost as people with low or average incomes in eight other developed countries, a new survey brief by the Commonwealth Fund finds.

The survey findings also show that nearly half of American adults (46%) faced a problem with a medical bill in the last year, and almost half with low or average incomes (46%) skipped or delayed needed care because of price – the highest rate in any of nine countries analyzed.