醫(yī)療成本增長，9,800萬美國人不得不削減食品和汽油支出
L'OREAL THOMPSON PAYTON
2022-08-07
目前，價格上漲的生活必需品不止是汽油和食品雜貨。為了支付增長的醫(yī)療成本，美國民眾選擇了推遲或者徹底放棄治療。據(jù)西區(qū)健康（West Health）和蓋洛普（Gallup）的最新調(diào)查顯示，過去六個月，有約9,800萬（38%）的美國人為了支付醫(yī)療費用，削減了食品、汽油、公用事業(yè)等方面的支出。
此次調(diào)查的時間是在2022年6月，當時美國的通脹率達到40年最高的9.1%。該項蓋洛普小組調(diào)查中包括來自50個州和哥倫比亞特區(qū)的3,001位成年人。
蓋洛普高級研究員丹·維特斯表示：“首先發(fā)生的一般通脹，會減少消費行為，之后的醫(yī)療通脹雖然嚴重程度只有一般通脹的一半，但依舊遠高于近幾年的平均水平，這是一把雙刃劍。當然，醫(yī)療本身就成本高昂。我們過去四年一直在衡量和跟蹤美國成年人的醫(yī)療成本負擔，當前的狀況在這方面寫下了新的篇章。”
低收入家庭做出犧牲的比例最高，有超過一半年收入不足48,000美元的家庭減少了支出，但有近20%的高收入家庭（年收入超過180,000美元）也不得不減少支出。調(diào)查還發(fā)現(xiàn)，50歲以下的女性有36%削減了醫(yī)療和醫(yī)藥支出，而同齡男性的比例只有27%。
西部健康總裁提摩西·A·拉什表示：“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，高醫(yī)療成本對女性的影響尤其嚴重。我們還根據(jù)其他證據(jù)發(fā)現(xiàn)，女性享受醫(yī)療保健的費率更高，而且很可惜，我們在收入方面依舊存在性別不平等，因此醫(yī)療成本對女性的影響更高并不意外?！?/p>
2022年6月，醫(yī)療通脹漲至4.5%，并且分為兩類：“醫(yī)療商品”和“醫(yī)療服務(wù)”。高物價正在迫使四分之一（26%）的美國人避免醫(yī)療和處方藥物。
維特斯解釋稱：“2010年，[巴拉克]奧巴馬總統(tǒng)簽署通過《平價醫(yī)療法案》（Affordable Health Care Act）之后，醫(yī)療通脹與2000年代初相比有所下降，但現(xiàn)在卻不斷升高。我們身邊的一切都在升高通脹，而且醫(yī)療通脹是一個滯后指標，因為許多醫(yī)療價格是由年度合同確定的。我們可以合理假設(shè)醫(yī)療通脹會持續(xù)上漲，尤其是在2023年或重新談判合同的新財年。我認為現(xiàn)在還沒到最糟糕的時候?！?/p>
雖然有降低醫(yī)療成本的立法，但受訪者對于改革能否如期進行沒有太大的信心。在被問到他們所選出的國會議員在近期內(nèi)是否會采取措施降低醫(yī)療成本時，約60%的受訪者表示“毫無信心”，有35%的受訪者表示“沒有太大信心”。
拉什表示：“我們會看到，醫(yī)療問題將成為中期選舉的核心議題，包括醫(yī)療權(quán)利、醫(yī)療實踐和醫(yī)療成本等各個方面的問題?！?/p>
在這方面，他建議民選官員承擔更多責任，個人要利用網(wǎng)站和應(yīng)用對處方藥進行比價，并與醫(yī)療提供商討論成本更低的替代治療選擇。
拉什表示：“我們經(jīng)常說新冠疫情或猴痘疫情是公共衛(wèi)生緊急事件。而考慮到高醫(yī)療成本的普遍影響，它本身已經(jīng)變成了一種公共健康緊急事件。”(財富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯：劉進龍
審校：汪皓
目前，價格上漲的生活必需品不止是汽油和食品雜貨。為了支付增長的醫(yī)療成本，美國民眾選擇了推遲或者徹底放棄治療。據(jù)西區(qū)健康（West Health）和蓋洛普（Gallup）的最新調(diào)查顯示，過去六個月，有約9,800萬（38%）的美國人為了支付醫(yī)療費用，削減了食品、汽油、公用事業(yè)等方面的支出。
此次調(diào)查的時間是在2022年6月，當時美國的通脹率達到40年最高的9.1%。該項蓋洛普小組調(diào)查中包括來自50個州和哥倫比亞特區(qū)的3,001位成年人。
蓋洛普高級研究員丹·維特斯表示：“首先發(fā)生的一般通脹，會減少消費行為，之后的醫(yī)療通脹雖然嚴重程度只有一般通脹的一半，但依舊遠高于近幾年的平均水平，這是一把雙刃劍。當然，醫(yī)療本身就成本高昂。我們過去四年一直在衡量和跟蹤美國成年人的醫(yī)療成本負擔，當前的狀況在這方面寫下了新的篇章。”
低收入家庭做出犧牲的比例最高，有超過一半年收入不足48,000美元的家庭減少了支出，但有近20%的高收入家庭（年收入超過180,000美元）也不得不減少支出。調(diào)查還發(fā)現(xiàn)，50歲以下的女性有36%削減了醫(yī)療和醫(yī)藥支出，而同齡男性的比例只有27%。
西部健康總裁提摩西·A·拉什表示：“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，高醫(yī)療成本對女性的影響尤其嚴重。我們還根據(jù)其他證據(jù)發(fā)現(xiàn)，女性享受醫(yī)療保健的費率更高，而且很可惜，我們在收入方面依舊存在性別不平等，因此醫(yī)療成本對女性的影響更高并不意外。”
2022年6月，醫(yī)療通脹漲至4.5%，并且分為兩類：“醫(yī)療商品”和“醫(yī)療服務(wù)”。高物價正在迫使四分之一（26%）的美國人避免醫(yī)療和處方藥物。
維特斯解釋稱：“2010年，[巴拉克]奧巴馬總統(tǒng)簽署通過《平價醫(yī)療法案》（Affordable Health Care Act）之后，醫(yī)療通脹與2000年代初相比有所下降，但現(xiàn)在卻不斷升高。我們身邊的一切都在升高通脹，而且醫(yī)療通脹是一個滯后指標，因為許多醫(yī)療價格是由年度合同確定的。我們可以合理假設(shè)醫(yī)療通脹會持續(xù)上漲，尤其是在2023年或重新談判合同的新財年。我認為現(xiàn)在還沒到最糟糕的時候?！?/p>
雖然有降低醫(yī)療成本的立法，但受訪者對于改革能否如期進行沒有太大的信心。在被問到他們所選出的國會議員在近期內(nèi)是否會采取措施降低醫(yī)療成本時，約60%的受訪者表示“毫無信心”，有35%的受訪者表示“沒有太大信心”。
拉什表示：“我們會看到，醫(yī)療問題將成為中期選舉的核心議題，包括醫(yī)療權(quán)利、醫(yī)療實踐和醫(yī)療成本等各個方面的問題?！?/p>
在這方面，他建議民選官員承擔更多責任，個人要利用網(wǎng)站和應(yīng)用對處方藥進行比價，并與醫(yī)療提供商討論成本更低的替代治療選擇。
拉什表示：“我們經(jīng)常說新冠疫情或猴痘疫情是公共衛(wèi)生緊急事件。而考慮到高醫(yī)療成本的普遍影響，它本身已經(jīng)變成了一種公共健康緊急事件?！?財富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯：劉進龍
審校：汪皓
Gas and groceries aren’t the only necessities costing more these days. In an effort to accommodate higher health care costs, Americans have been delaying or skipping treatments altogether. According to a new survey from West Health and Gallup, 38% of Americans, or roughly 98 million people, cut back on food, gas, utilities, and other costs to pay for health care expenses in the past six months.
The poll, which was conducted in June 2022 when inflation reached a 40-year high of 9.1%, included 3,001 adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia as part of the Gallup panel.
“It’s a double-edged sword when you’ve got general inflation, which is curtailing consumer behavior, and then you’ve got health care inflation, which is only half as great, but it’s still a lot higher than it’s been on average in recent years,” says Dan Witters, senior researcher at Gallup. “And of course, health care is expensive to begin with. We’ve been measuring and tracking the burden of the cost of care on American adults now for four years, and this is one more chapter in that story.”
While tradeoffs were higher in lower-income households with more than half of those earning less than $48,000 annually making cuts, nearly 20% of higher-earning households (those making more than $180,000 a year) were forced to cut back on spending as well. The survey also found that 36% of women under 50 cut back on medical care and medicine compared to 27% of men under 50.
“We found that females were disproportionately impacted by the high cost of health care,” says Timothy A. Lash, president of West Health. “We also know from other evidence that females utilize health care at a higher rate and unfortunately we still have gender inequality in terms of income, so it’s not surprising that there’s a higher impact of health care costs there.”
Health care inflation climbed to 4.5% in June 2022 and is split into two categories: “medical care commodities” and “medical care services.” Higher prices are driving one in four Americans, or 26%, to avoid both medical care and prescriptions altogether.
“Health care inflation simmered down after President [Barack] Obama signed the Affordable Health Care Act into law back in 2010 compared to the early 2000s, but it’s higher now,” explains Witters. “It’s getting hoisted up by everything we’re seeing around us, and it’s always going to be a bit of a trailing indicator because a lot of these prices are built into annualized contracts. It’s reasonable to postulate that health care inflation is going to continue to increase, particularly in 2023 or into the new fiscal years when contracts get renegotiated. I think the worst is yet to come.”
While there is legislation on the table to reduce health care costs, there’s little faith among the respondents that any change will actually happen with nearly 60% of the adults polled being “not at all confident” and 35% saying there were “not too confident” that their own elected representatives to Congress would take action to lower health care costs in the near future.
“We’re going to see in the midterms that health care is very much on the ballot along with the entire continuum of health care rights, health care practice, and health care costs,” says Lash.
To that end, he recommends holding elected officials more accountable, taking personal responsibility to use websites and apps that allow you to comparison shop when it comes to prescriptions and discussing lower-cost alternatives for treatments with health care providers.
“We talk a lot about pandemics in terms of COVID or monkeypox as public health emergencies,” says Lash. “With this sort of ubiquitous impact, it’s the high cost of health care that has become a public health emergency in and of itself.”
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