Health-Care Costs: The Impact of Medical Bills

As the health-care debate continues, it is important to take note that health-care costs represent the most important financial problem facing families in the U.S., at least according to a Gallup poll . The 17% who name health-care costs as their family's most pressing financial problem is up seven percentage points since 2013 and is just two points shy of the all-time high of 19% recorded in 2007. Besides health-care costs, other prominent financial problems Americans name as the most important facing their family include high debt (11%), lack of money (10%), and college expenses (10%).

The impact of medical bills can be felt across family budgets. In a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the New York Times , 35% of people reported that they could not pay for basic needs such as housing, food, or heat because of their medical bills, while 61% said the expenses made it harder to pay their other bills. The number of Americans who have problems paying their medical bills in a given year runs into the tens of millions . In fact, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau once reported that medical debt is the biggest factor in negative credit reports.

In addition to many uninsured folks today and many low-income individuals who cant afford comprehensive coverage, even people with health-care insurance coverage can face potentially devastating medical bills . Many individuals do not have sufficient financial resources to pay a mid- or high-range deductible, or large out-of-pocket maximum requirements, as these amounts have greatly increased over the years.

The costs of health-care in retirement will be astronomical for many individuals, especially as life expectancy increases. With the disappearance of employment-based retiree medical plans , individuals will need to save much more for their health-care costs in retirement. Even with the best efforts, individuals may not be able to save and have enough for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, either now or during their retirement.

The health-care industry has witnessed significant changes, challenges, and opportunities, and what the future will bring remains unclear. The future of health-care access, delivery, and costs in the U.S. remains uncertain, especially relative to the future life of the Affordable Care Act .

Whatever comes from the current health-care debate, unless concerted efforts are made to get at the underlying reasons why U.S. health-care is so expensive and attempt to address these issues, we will continue to see a lot of cost-shifting, and much anxiety for individuals, employers, insurance companies, hospitals, doctors, and all health-care providers, consumers, and industry stakeholders.

No matter the outcome of the federal health-care legislation, I would expect health-care costs to continue to be one of many American families most pressing financial problems.