The Urgency Behind America's Healthcare Cost Crisis

A recent Gallupl and West Health poll has found that in the United States, the share of people stating that they are insecure about the cost of their medication is rising. In January of this year, 18.9 percent of respondents said there was a time over the previous 12 months when their household was unable to pay for medicine or drugs prescribed by their doctor and that increased to 22.9 percent in September 2019. The report also found that 13 percent of U.S. adults - 34 million people - say they know of someone who had died because he or she was not able to pay for medical treatment.

The research uncovered a noticeable racial divide with 9.6 percent of whites saying they know of such an instance compared to 20.3 percent of nonwhites. In the household income category, 18.5 percent of people earning $40,000 or less know someone who passed away due to their inability to pay their medical expenses. Unsurprisingly that falls as income rises. There is also a sharp political divide on the issue with 16.4 percent of Independents and 14.8 percent of Democrats saying they know someone who died under such circumstances compared to just 4.9 percent of Republicans. GOP supporters were also more likely to see progress when it comes to reducing the cost of prescription drugs than the other political groups.