The Association of Childbirth with Medical Debt in the USA, 2019-2020.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Medical debt affects one in five adults in the USA and may disproportionately burden postpartum women due to pregnancy-related medical costs.

Objective

To evaluate the association between childbirth and medical debt, and the correlates of medical debt among postpartum women, in the USA.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Participants

We analyzed female "sample adults" 18-49 years old in the 2019-2020 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative household survey.

Main measures

Our primary exposure was whether the subject gave birth in the past year. We had two family-level debt outcomes: problems paying medical bills and inability to pay medical bills. We examined the association between live birth and medical debt outcomes, unadjusted an

SUBMITTER: Cahn J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10192781 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature