A group that supports single-payer health care is highlighting a study that shows Ohioans are very worried about paying medical costs, and are taking dangerous steps because of it. Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler reports.
The Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio released the results of a study by the health research firm Altarum. Lynn Quincy from Altarum says in the last year, half of a thousand Ohioans surveyed either went uninsured, struggled to pay for medical care or avoided it. And a big number didn’t fill prescriptions, cut their drugs in half, or adjusted or skipped dosages.
“About one quarter of adults in Ohio – that’s everyone, whether they consumed medical care last year or not – did one of those things. That’s a shockingly high number and a dangerous number.”
Quincy says the survey showed overwhelming support for making it easy to switch insurance companies, for price transparency, and to require insurers to provide cost estimates upfront.