Inflation is forcing some Americans to forego medical treatment

investmentnews.com:

With household finances under pressure, some American families are finding medical expenses one bill too much, or even foregoing medical care altogether.

A poll of 1,000 U.S. adults reveals that two-thirds (67%) said that inflation is making it harder to pay medical bills in 2023, up 10 percentage points from last year, while more than a third said they are “avoiding medical care” because of debt, up from 28% in 2022.

The research from Debt.com also found that 32% said that their medical debts were in collections this year, up from 28% last year.

“Inflation may be subsiding, but the damage it wrought will stay with us for a long time,” says Debt.com founder and chairperson Howard Dvorkin. “Medical debt was a growing problem before inflation, even before the pandemic. Now it’s becoming a crisis.”

While a major illness can be very costly, routine appointments with doctors (21%) are a larger cause of medical debt than a visit to the emergency room or other hospital procedure (17%). In 2020, these were reversed with hospitalization causing 25% of medical debt while doctor’s visit was cited by 15%.

Other medical costs adding to debt burdens include diagnostic tests, dental care, outpatient services, prescription drugs, and nursing home/long-term care.

On the plus side, the level of medical debt is lower in 2023 than it was three years ago.

The survey reveals that 56% of medical debt this year is less than $500 while 15% is in the $1000-5,000 range, compared to 20% and 34% respectively in 2020.

But this is reflective of people avoiding incurring debt through more expensive medical care.

“Medical debt doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s quite likely that doctor’s visits have become harder to pay because Americans have many other