Nearly 70% of Utahns surveyed earlier this year went without insurance because it costs too much. They also skipped medications and procedures, and regularly struggled to pay medical bills.This story is part of The Salt Lake Tribune’s ongoing commitment to identify solutions to Utah’s biggest challenges through the work of the Innovation Lab.
The group did a deep dive into health care affordability in individual states this year and gave Utah 32.4 out of 80 points — the equivalent of an F. Daniel Sloan, a health policy analyst with the Utah Health Policy Project, said that isn’t surprising, especially because of prescription drug costs and other factors “affecting people across the board.”
White people were less likely than people of color to worry about affordability or experience issues affording health care, and people identifying as Hispanic or Latino were the most likely to worry or experience issues. As people delay all types of health care because of costs, a lot of “pretty avoidable issues” are popping up, Sloan said.18% getting sent to collections.others racking up debt, borrowing money or going on a long-term payment plan.
GoFundMe fundraising also reflects the impact of people seeking deferred treatment, the spokesperson added in a statement, with a 20% increase in cancer-related fundraisers.also helps wipe out debt by buying it bundled for a fraction of the cost and forgiving it. It’s one of a few nonprofits focused on helping people tackle medical debt.
And Utah is working on setting a cost growth target by consensus instead of through legislative action. It would be the first red state to do so, said Wissler, of the One Utah Health Collaborative.