Authored by Sylvia Xu via The Epoch Times,
Having health insurance is no guarantee of avoiding medical debt, according to a recent study.
About one-third of working-age Americans who have health insurance also have outstanding medical bills or debt, according to a Sept. 17 survey conducted by Commonwealth Fund, a private healthcare foundation.
That includes people with an employer-sponsored health plan, an individual health plan, or Obamacare, according to the report.
Hospitals are the main creditors, the survey found. Sixty-four percent of insured people with medical debt said it was from hospital services such as inpatient care, outpatient care, and emergency department care.
Routine care added to the debt for many of the 4,000 survey respondents. That included doctor visits (43 percent), treatment for chronic conditions (39 percent), lab work or diagnostic tests (38 percent), and dental care (25 percent).
Nearly half reported having $2,000 or more in unpaid medical bills.
Most of those having medical debt laid the blame on insurance companies (64 percent) or the broader healthcare system (57 percent), according to the survey.
"When insured people are left owing thousands of dollars for their care, coverage is falling short of its most basic purpose: protecting people financially when they get sick," wrote Sara Collins, coauthor of the report.
Here's why having health insurance often fails to protect Americans from debt.
