U.S. rising costs of health care coverage continue to put financial strain on even the privately insured

Rising costs of health care coverage continue to put financial strain on even the privately insured By 2022, the share of Americans without health insurance had reached a record low of just under 8%. More than half the U.S. population, an estimated 180 million individuals (or 55%), were covered by private ... Jacqueline Mitchell Medical Xpress

...the financial burden of health care continues to contribute to stress, poverty, debt, bankruptcy and worse health outcomes even for those with private coverage.

A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has revealed that annual total spending on health care by privately insured families, including contributions to insurance premiums and out-of-pocket spending on medical care and prescription drugs, increased significantly between 2007 and 2019. The overall increase was driven largely by a rise in families' contributions to premiums, while out-of-pocket costs remained stable during the study period.

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