November 22, 2024

The Commonwealth Fund on November 21, 2024 released a new report on insurance coverage in the US. According to The State of Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S.:

“• More than half (56%) of U.S. working-age adults were insured all year with coverage adequate to ensure affordable access to care. But there are soft spots requiring policy attention: 9 percent of adults were uninsured, 12 percent had a gap in coverage over the past year, and 23 percent were underinsured, meaning they had coverage for a full year that didn’t provide them with affordable access to heath care.

“• Among adults who were insured all year but underinsured, 66 percent had coverage through an employer, 16 percent were enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare, and 14 percent had a plan purchased in the marketplaces or the individual market.

“• Nearly three of five (57%) underinsured adults said they avoided getting needed health care because of its cost; 44 percent said they had medical or dental debt they were paying off over time.

“• Delaying care has health consequences: two of five (41%) working-age adults who reported a cost-related delay in their care said a health problem had worsened because of it.

“• Nearly half of adults (48%) with medical debt are paying off $2,000 or more; half of those with debt said it stemmed from a hospital stay.”

Source: Sara R. Collins and Avni Gupta, The State of Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S.: Findings from the Commonwealth Fund 2024 Biennial Health Insurance Survey (Commonwealth Fund, Nov. 2024). https://doi.org/10.26099/byce-qc28

World Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems and policies in the US and sixteen other OECD member nations.

Page last updated November 22, 2024 by Doug McVay, Editor.