Prevalence and Correlates of Medical Financial Hardship in the USA.

ABSTRACT:

Background

High patient out-of-pocket (OOP) spending for medical care is associated with medical debt, distress about household finances, and forgoing medical care because of cost in the USA.

Objective

To examine the national prevalence of medical financial hardship domains: (1) material conditions from increased OOP expenses (e.g., medical debt), (2) psychological responses (e.g., distress), and (3) coping behaviors (e.g., forgoing care); and factors associated with financial hardship.

Design and participants

We identified adults aged 18-64 years (N = 68,828) and ≥ 65 years (N = 24,614) from the 2015-2017 National Health Interview Survey. Multivariable analyses of nationally representative cross-sectional survey data were stratified by age group, 18-64 years and ≥ 65

SUBMITTER: Yabroff KR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6667570 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature