Healthcare costs are putting a stranglehold on many of us.
A new
Bankrate.com survey shows that medical debt exceeds emergency savings for 25 percent of American adults. That compares to 51 percent who have more in emergency savings than medical debt.
A total of 55 percent are concerned that medical bills may eventually blow up their finances.
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Meanwhile, 55 percent say they are somewhat or very worried they will lose health insurance. The total is 60 percent for those ages 30 to 64.
Americans' fears about health expenses may stem from their own recent experiences with health insurance, David Cusano, a senior research fellow at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute told Bankrate.
"With the Affordable Care Act, anybody who now wants insurance can get it. The question now becomes: 'Can I afford to use it?'" he said.
"People confronting out-of-pocket maximums at around $7,000 or deductibles of $5,000 for a family — that's a lot of money. You throw prescription drug co-pays into the mix, and I can see where you would be worried."
Some health insurance experts worry that the second year of Obamacare will see even more problems than the first.
"In some respects, it’s going to be more complicated," Kevin Counihan, recently-appointed head of the federal government's insurance marketplaces, told
The New York Times. "Part of me thinks that this year is going to make last year look like the good old days."
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