One quarter of Americans say they or someone in their family has abstained from seeking necessary medical care because of high costs, according to a survey from Bankrate Money Pulse. Older millennials — those between 27 and 36 — are the most likely to skip medical care because of cost, with about one in three American adults in that age range reporting they've chosen not to seek necessary care because they couldn't afford it.
More than half of Americans are worried about not being able to find an affordable health insurance plan, the survey found.
"My deductible is so high, it's not worth it to go to the doctor for most things," said Mandy Pullen, a 44-year-old single mom in Waltham, Massachusetts, according to the report. Ms. Pullen has healthcare coverage through her job as a food service manager. "I just tough it out," she added.
More than half (56 percent) of survey respondents said they're either very worried or somewhat worried they won't be able to afford healthcare coverage in the future. This is about the same level of concern as when Bankrate posed this question in August 2014, about a year after opening the health insurance exchanges under the ACA.
The Bankrate Money Pulse survey was conducted May 18-21 by Princeton Survey Research Associates International among a nationally representative sample of 1,002 adults living in the continental U.S.