One in four Americans burdened by medical debt: Report
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Lower-income citizens are less likely to be strapped with medical debt either because they delay medical treatment or they do not get care they deem unaffordable.
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Fluids are controlled in an operating room in a hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, on June 15, 2023 (AP)
A report provided by think tank Third Way to Axios on Monday revealed that one in four Americans, which amounts to 17 million people, have unpaid medical bills.
According to the report, middle-income citizens who earn between $50,000-$100,000 a year are more likely to be saddled with medical debt as their financial standing disqualifies them from Medicare or charity care.
Lower-income citizens are less likely to be strapped with medical debt either because they delay medical treatment or they do not get care they deem unaffordable.
"It's even more tragic in that sense. They'd have even higher levels of debt if they thought they could get the care, but they don't think they can get the care," David Kendall, senior fellow for health and fiscal policy at Third Way, told Axios.
Medical debt is a serious issue that has been plaguing American society and even Americans' health for quite some time.
A study published by KFF revealed that at least 100 million US citizens are strapped with some kind of medical debt.
While 23.5% of middle-class citizens have unpaid bills, about 22% of lower-income citizens do as well.
About 13% of those considered high-income earners are saddled with medical debt.
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While the trend is consistent across most age groups, those who are aged 65 and above aren't as they qualify for Medicare.
Discrepencies are also noticable among racial and ethnic groups.
For instance, 37.5% of Black middle-class people have medical debt -- 8.5 points higher than low-income Black earners and 16 points higher than higher-income Black earners.
As for the Hispanic middle-class, about 25.2% are burdened with medical debt -- 5 points higher than low-income Hispanic hearners and 7 points higher than high-income Hispanic earners.
And for the white middle-class, about 20.4% have medical debt -- 1 point lower than low-income Whites and nine points higher than high-income White earners.
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