In a survey of 11 countries, U.S. adults were the most likely to report high out-of-pocket costs for medical care ($1,000 or more in the past year), issues with paying healthcare bills and going without care because of costs, according to a study published in Health Affairs.
Researchers surveyed people in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland the United Kingdom. They found approximately 40 percent of both insured and uninsured U.S. residents had spent $1,000 or more on medical care in the past year excluding premiums, compared with less than 10 percent of adults in Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
Furthermore, 25 percent of U.S. adults had spent $2,000 or more on care, more than double the rates in any other country except Australia, where 14 percent had spent $2,000 or more, according to the study.
Additionally, 32 percent of U.S. survey respondents reported not seeing a physician when sick or didn't get recommended care because of the cost, showing a higher rate of forgoing care than respondents in any other country surveyed. The next highest percentage was 20 in the Netherlands and New Zealand, and the lowest was 4 percent in Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Overall, the study findings across all countries suggest calibrating any cost sharing to people's ability to pay is important, according to the researchers.
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