The Atlantic

Americans Are Putting Off Medical Treatments Because They Can't Pay

A new study looks at how people cope with unplanned health-care expenses.
Source: Mike Blake / Reuters

More than a quarter of Americans say that someone in their household is struggling to pay medical debt, according to a report from the Kauffman Family Foundation last year. Low-income and other uninsured people tend to be in this situation at higher rates. Many dealing with the crushing weight of medical debt aren’t those suffering from continuing, chronic illness—they’re people who have had a sudden or one-time illness.

Given the state ofto sustain any type of financial shock, be it job loss, a car breaking down, or a sudden illness. And financial surprises—though they are, of course, surprises—occur all the time.

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