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Many Insured Utahns Struggle To Access Healthcare

famhealthcarefargo.org
14 percent of those who went without healthcare chose to forgo prescription medications.

A report released Thursday by Families USA shows that more than one in four adults who had year-long coverage through non-group private insurance plans went without needed medical care last year.

According to Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, many of those insured chose to forgo needed tests, treatments, and even prescription drugs. He said that high premiums and deductibles are to blame.

“Many millions of previously uninsured Americans gained health coverage over the past two years. But gaining health coverage too often still leaves needed healthcare unaffordable due to high deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs,” Pollack said. “This needs to be fixed. We’ve got a significant portion of the insured population who are not getting the care they need because they can’t afford.”

Seven percent of Utahns have non-group private healthcare, compared with six percent nationwide. While efforts such as the Affordable Care Act and Gov. Gary Herbert’s Healthy Utah plan have sought to expand health coverage, the study shows healthcare access solutions go beyond expanded coverage. Pollack said that even those above the federal poverty line struggle to pay out-of-pocket costs.

“This problem doesn’t only affect the group of people we call lower- to middle income,” he said. “That’s because the Affordable Care Act is structured that if you have income in excess of 250 percent of poverty, you do not qualify for a subsidy to help reduce your out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and co-payments. Only those with incomes below that qualify for that help.”

32 percent of adults with lower- to middle incomes went without needed care. Pollack and the other authors of the study also called for reforms that would cover prescriptions and outpatient services before a deductible is paid.