A new study from The Commonwealth Fund found that American adults are far more likely than those in 10 other high-income countries to go without health care due to cost, or to have trouble paying their medical bills. The study also found more Americans complaining of hassles over health insurance disputes and paperwork. The survey of 11 high-income countries found that 37 percent of U.S. adults went without recommended care, did not see a doctor when sick or did not fill prescriptions because of the cost, compared with as few as 4 to 6 percent of adults in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of American adults also either had serious trouble paying medical bills or were unable to pay them, compared to less than 13 percent in France (which had the next-highest rate), and 6 percent or fewer of those in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway, according to the survey.
Read full study: Access, Affordability, and Insurance Complexity Are Often Worse in the United States Compared to 10 Other Countries