Problems Paying Medical Bills Among Persons Under Age 65

Previous work has shown that in the first half of 2011 through the first half of 2013, approximately one in five persons under age 65 was in a family with problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months.

A new NCHS report provides updated estimates for the percentage of persons under age 65 who were in families having problems paying medical bills, by selected demographic variables, based on data from January 2011 through June 2014 of the National Health Interview Survey.

Key Findings from the Report:

• The percentage of persons under age 65 who were in families having problems paying medical bills decreased from 21.3% (56.5 million) in 2011 to 17.8% (47.7 million) in the first 6 months of 2014.
• Within each year, from 2011 through June 2014, children aged 0–17 years were more likely than adults aged 18–64 to be in families having problems paying medical bills.
• The percentage of children aged 0–17 years who were in families having problems paying medical bills decreased from 23.2% in 2011 to 19.0% in the first 6 months of 2014.
• In the first 6 months of 2014, among persons under age 65, 31.2% of those who were uninsured, 24.2% of those who had public coverage, and 12.4% of those who had private coverage were in families having problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months.
• In the first 6 months of 2014, 27.1% of poor, 28.0% of near poor, and 12.6% of not poor persons under age 65 were in families having problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months.