Dec
29A new study has found that last year (2010), about 40% of Americans had trouble paying medical bills. This is up from 34% just a few years ago in 2005. Lack of insurance coverage is an obvious obstacle to increased out-of-pocket spending, but Patricia Herman, an economist at the University of Arizona warns that even having health insurance isn’t always protective from being financially devastated by illness or injury.
The study, which appears online and in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health, used data of 4,200 households in Arizona using the 2008 Arizona Health Survey which included items about whether families were having trouble paying medical bills or if they had delayed care because of the expense. D
