Home » Poll results: Kentuckians delaying medical care due to cost

Poll results: Kentuckians delaying medical care due to cost

By wmadministrator

Kentucky Health Issues Poll shows 22% needed care but did not get it due to cost

Fdn Healthy KyLOUISVILLE, Ky.— Poll data released today by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health indicate that lower-income Kentuckians are much more likely to forgo medical care and have more trouble paying for health care than those with higher incomes. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) data reveal three out of every four Kentucky adults now have a usual or appropriate source of care.

KHIP highlights include:

• More than two in 10 (22%) said they or a family member in their home needed care at some point over the past 12 months but they did not get care or delayed getting it because of cost; in 2009, 32% reported delaying or skipping needed care due to cost.
• Almost one third (32%) of adults who earn at or below 138% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) indicated they did not get or delayed medical care due to cost while 14% of those making more than 200% FPL reported they had to forgo or delay coverage because of cost.
• Three in 10 (31%) reported that they or a family member in their home had trouble paying a medical bill in the past twelve months.
• Almost 5 in 10 (47%) of uninsured adults indicated they had trouble paying medical bills at some point during the past twelve months.
• Nearly 8 in 10 (77%) of insured adults have a typical and appropriate source of care compared to 5 in 10 (51%) of uninsured adults with a typical and appropriate care source.

“Being able to afford needed medical care and having access to appropriate usual sources of care are two important challenges that may prevent a person from receiving care,” said Susan Zepeda, President/CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. “KHIP data indicate lower income Kentucky adults have to forgo treatment more often than their higher income neighbors and are more likely to have problems paying for their care.”

KHIP was funded by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health, based in Cincinnati. The poll was conducted October 8, 2014—November 6, 2014, by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,597 adults from throughout Kentucky was interviewed by telephone, including landlines and cell phones. The poll has a margin of error of ±2.5%.

More health care related posts: