Healthcare Affordability Still Remains A Problem in America

The United States has the most advanced health care in the world. There are gleaming medical centers across the country where doctors cure cancers, transplant organs and bring people back from near death.

The most serious health care problem faced by most Americans is affordability. A December Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 62 percent of Americans surveyed, including 62 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Democrats, were concerned about the position of presidential candidates on health care affordability.

‘Health care costs cause serious financial problems for more than a quarter of Americans, more than forty percent of whom report spending all or most of their personal savings on large medical bills.’

The vast majority of Americans have not benefited from Obamacare, according to a poll released by National Public Radio, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

56 percent of Americans polled said they don't believe the Affordable Care Act has directly impacted them. Of those surveyed who said it did have a direct impact, more said health care reform has been overall detrimental rather than positive - coming in at 25 percent and 15 percent respectively.

Just 15 percent of people say they have personally benefited from ObamaCare, although more than one-third believe it has helped the people of their state, according to the poll. Among those who have felt affected, more people say the law has hurt them than helped them.

"Most adults in the U.S. also say health care costs are a major problem in their state and more than half believe state costs have increased in the past two years," the poll said. "In terms of health insurance costs, more than a third of U.S. adults believe their health insurance co-pay, deductible and premium costs have increased in the past two years, while only about one in six say the same of their benefits."

Additionally, 13 percent said it has become harder to see a doctor since the law was implemented. The poll is based on 1,002 phone interviews with adults across the country from Sept. 8 to Nov. 9, 2015 and leaves a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percent.

Source: Medindia