Expanding access means closing health coverage gaps, promoting comprehensive coverage, and notifying regulatory authorities when insurance companies fail to follow the law. That’s why Consumers for Affordable Health Care has been at the forefront of protecting consumers and ensuring access for more than three decades.
Survey Reveals Nearly Half of Maine Households Continue to Struggle with Medical Debt
CAHC recently released the results of a new survey that shows nearly half of Maine households have incurred medical debt within the past two years. The data reveals that, while recent state and federal efforts to increase access to affordable health coverage have helped many Mainers, many still struggle with high health care costs and medical debt. Key findings from the Examining Voter Views Towards Health Care in Maine, include:
- Almost half of Maine households surveyed incurred medical debt in the past two years. A large majority – two out of three – had health insurance at the time.
- Most Mainers with medical debt attribute it to a hospital service; nearly half report prescription drug costs were also implicated.
- Half of Maine families report a negative impact on their credit scores due to medical debt; most say they had difficulty obtaining loans or employment as a result.
- Half of Maine families reported having a higher-than-expected copayment for a prescription drug. One out of three say they postponed filling or refilling a prescription, split pills in half, skipped doses of medicine, or did not fill a prescription at all due to cost.
- Half of Mainers with commercial insurance experienced difficulty affording their deductibles; nearly as many struggled to pay their coinsurance, premiums, or copayments and more than a quarter of Mainers with commercial coverage have had a claim denied by their insurance company.
The new survey data also show roughly nine out of ten voters believe providing affordable, comprehensive health insurance to every Mainer should be a priority for Maine’s policymakers.
- Nine out of ten support enforcing price transparency rules, limiting hospital charges, or addressing the rising costs of prescription drugs; two out of three strongly supporting such proposals.
- Nearly as many – almost eight out of ten – support requiring hospitals to increase the amount of financial assistance they provide in Maine.
- Nine out of ten Mainers support requiring health insurance companies to reduce deductibles or out-of-pocket plan costs.
- At least eight out of ten Maine voters support continued funding for Maine’s Office of Affordable Health Care and Maine’s Health Insurance Consumer Assistance Program.
These statistics are unconscionable. Mainers clearly need relief from high healthcare costs, including hospital services. The way forward is to continue to bring the voice of the Maine people to policymakers as they consider health costs and coverage changes.
If you would like your perspective considered as we develop policies to benefit Maine consumers, Tell Us Your Story.
February 2024
New survey shows most Mainers support transparent hospital prices, limits to unexpected fees, confirming concerns about health care costs and medical debt and showing strong support for price transparency and limits on what hospitals can charge as “facility fees”
Key findings from the Perceptions of Health Care Affordability and Hospital Facility Fees in Maine survey include:
- Half of all surveyed Mainers find it difficult to afford health care; many responded it is very difficult to afford health care.
- Four out of ten Mainers have taken on medical debt within the past five years; three out of four who took on medical debt in the past five years still have that debt.
- Two out of three Mainers say they would have difficulty paying a $500 medical expense.
- Hospital-owned facilities are, by far, the most common source of medical debt, with six out of ten saying the largest share of their debt came from a hospital facility.
- Almost eight out of ten Mainers would support a law that banned hospitals from charging facility fees outside of a hospital – a clear majority strongly support that type of ban.
- Nine out of ten would support laws that require medical providers to disclose their facility fees to patients before they receive treatment.
The survey results, coupled with the Task Force to Evaluate the Impact of Facility Fees on Patients recommendations, show there is a need – and resounding support for – both transparent prices and additional steps to address rising health care costs and medical debt in Maine. The full survey can be viewed here.
May 2023
Views of Maine Voters On Health Care Affordability Results of a Survey Conducted on Behalf of Maine Consumers for Affordable Health Care
-
Two out of three Mainers with commercial insurance are concerned about unexpected medical expenses.
-
One in three Mainers struggled to pay for basic necessities, such as food, heat, or housing, within the past two years, as a result of a medical bill. Among those who struggled to pay for necessities, nearly three quarters reported they experienced this as the result of a hospital bill.
-
Nearly one in three Mainers reported they had been contacted by a collection agency about a medical bill within the past two years, of which more than 80% said they were sent to collections as the result of a hospital bill.
Download the report here for full survey results.
