The majority of Massachusetts residents had health insurance during the pandemic, but many found that medical costs were becoming increasingly unaffordable.
According to the Massachusetts Health Insurance Survey, a state-wide survey of 5,000 people conducted by the Center for Health Information Analysis found that State residents were uninsured in 2021 Low numbers in line with recent rates.
These numbers are significantly lower than the national uninsured rate, which has remained close to 10 percent in the last few years. Nevertheless, some people could not get health insurance. Almost half of uninsured respondents said costs were the reason for uninsured, and 20.6% said they didn’t know how to get insurance.
Even with insurance, 41% of respondents say they have problems paying for their health care.
“Massachusetts continues to be the lowest uninsured state in the country,” said Christine Labridge, research manager at the Center for Health Information Analysis. “Nevertheless, two-fifths of residents report that they and their families have experienced affordable problems in the last 12 months.”
Affordability was a particular challenge for black residents. 50.8% of respondents who identified non-Hispanic blacks said they or their families had problems paying for long-term care. In addition, 54.9% of Hispanic residents reported problems with family affordability. By comparison, only 37.9% of Caucasian residents had affordable challenges for themselves and their families.
The issue of affordability was not limited to the issue of minimum income. Instead, according to a survey, people with moderate family income had the most difficulty in cost, probably due to the government’s insurance eligibility threshold.
According to the report, 31% of residents have been unable to receive the medical services they or their families need due to costs in the last 12 months, and most of these residents are satisfied. It reports no dental or professional medical needs... This is an increase of 27% from 2019 The proportion of residents reported that they had unmet medical needs due to costs.
“Most dental and visual care is generally not covered by medical insurance, and professional care often involves higher out-of-pocket and joint insurance than general medical care,” the report said. .. “These types of care can also be costly for uninsured people.”
The pandemic also poses a unique challenge. Nearly 41% of respondents said they had difficulty accessing medical care for the past 12 months due to a pandemic. The health care provider was closed, or I felt it was dangerous to take a trip or visit to the health care provider.
Simbad Sanchez, Originally from Waltham, he directly experiences many of the affordable issues. Sanchez has been uninsured since he quit his job four years ago and started his own business, but at first he didn’t smoke or drink, so he felt he didn’t need insurance.
But he started to feel something was wrong last year. He had to see a doctor, so he went looking for health insurance and realized that the strong insurance he once had was too expensive. He tried to sign up for a cheaper option, but he was surprised when he started receiving invoices from his doctor without a deduction.
He also has to pay for dental treatment at his own expense after breaking his teeth last week. As for medicines, he relied on unused pills from his mother to control blood sugar levels and went without cholesterol medicines.
“My daughter is studying to be an ER doctor. I’m working hard to give her that dream,” he said. “I explained to her,’Oh, what happened? Like orange, [insurance] I want to squeeze to see how much money they can make. “”
You can contact Jessica Bartlett at jessica.bartlett@globe.com. Follow her on her Twitter @ByJessBartlett..
