In the past year, millions of people who needed medical care didn’t get it because it could have cost too much, according to a new Bankrate survey.
Bank Rate's Mark Hamrick said they wanted to find out American's feelings about healthcare and whether they can afford it.
He said there’s a serious need to lower costs and increase access to healthcare—which now accounts for about one-sixth of the US economy.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that the inflation in health care costs, and that includes health insurance, is essentially unsustainable, and that’s why it is such a big political football,” said Hamrick.
He said the growing cost of healthcare is causing great strains on people.
“This is something that really does cut across all lines because of the huge expense involved and the complications of obtaining (health)care. Everybody needs it,” said Hamrick.
He said ultimately we all pay a price, even if we get health insurance through work, that eats away at our take home pay.
In addition, we're all paying out of pocket for deductibles that are not covered by health insurance.
Baby Boomers are the most concerned that they might not have affordable health insurance in the future. Gen Xers aren’t far behind. Older millennials (ages 28-37) were the most likely to be caught off guard by their most recent medical bill. Forty-nine percent said it was more expensive than they expected.