Despite the fact that this exchange currently leads the country, many consumers still struggle with medical costs.
The results of the annual Center for Health Information and Analysis survey have been released and show that Massachusetts health insurance, while still leading the nation in terms of the percentage of state residents who are insured, still faces certain considerable struggles.
The state also leads in terms of health care costs rising faster than income growth and inflation rates.
What the survey determined was that about one in every six residents of the state who have Massachusetts health insurance coverage will still forgo obtaining medical care due to the potential costs they could end up facing. According to the Center for Health Information and Analysis executive director, Aron Boros, “In terms of long-term trends, Massachusetts has led in the percentage of those with insurance but has struggled with high cost of health care for many years and families have had to adapt to that for many years.”
The survey showed that while Massachusetts may be commonplace, its use and coverage is not consistent.
Boros explained that among the findings that was surprising to him was that “we have an insurance coverage rate of 96 percent, there are still a large number of people (13.6 percent ) who are uninsured at some point in the year.”
The survey is conducted by the center every year in order to measure the rates of health insurance coverage throughout the state, as well as the use and access to health care, and to the affordability of health care to residents of Massachusetts. This year’s study was conducted from May through August and involved the participation of 5,002 respondents who included everyone from children all the way through senior citizens.
Other key findings of this Massachusetts health insurance survey included:
• 87.3 percent of uninsured people in the state are of working age. Among them, the majority were single Hispanic males with a household annual income of under $46,800, many of whom would be eligible for Medicare.
• 1 in 6 respondents had foregone medical care due to cost. One in 5 had foregone dental care due to cost. One in 6 struggled to pay medical bills last year.
• Among the uninsured, cost is the top barrier to purchasing a health plan.