More households burdened by care costs: study

Even as the economy expanded before the recession, the number of households that found medical costs a financial burden grew, a newly published study said. “Thus, a return to strong economic growth and low unemployment by itself will not necessarily reduce the financial burden of healthcare for most Americans,” wrote Peter Cunningham, a senior fellow at the Center for Studying Health System Change, who authored the study published online in the policy journal Health Affairs.

In 2006, almost one in five households, or 19.1%, spent more than 10% of family income on healthcare, continuing a steady climb from 16.4% two years earlier and 14.4% in 2001, the research found. Income stagnated but household spending on healthcare and insurance premiums rose 8.5% between 2004 and 2006, according to the study.

Rising insurance premiums fueled increases in out-of-pocket spending by those insured through an employer during the two-year period. Of those, 18.4% spent more than 10% of family income on healthcare in 2006 compared with15.1% in 2004.

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