{"id":26195,"date":"2024-08-11T15:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T21:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/coloradans-cite-cost-concerns-as-major-reason-for-delayed-health-care\/"},"modified":"2024-08-11T21:02:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-11T21:02:00","slug":"coloradans-cite-cost-concerns-as-major-reason-for-delayed-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/coloradans-cite-cost-concerns-as-major-reason-for-delayed-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Coloradans cite cost concerns as major reason for delayed health care"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Over
Over the past year, seven out of 10 Coloradans either went without care, became uninsured or struggled to pay medical bills due to high costs, according to a survey from the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. (Associated Press file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over two-thirds of adults in Colorado delayed or went without health care over the past year because it was too expensive, a recent survey from the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative found.<\/p>\n

In total, seven out of 10 Coloradans either went without care, became uninsured or struggled to pay medical bills due to high costs, even as the state works to enact policy around health care price transparency and savings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we continue to hear from consumers is that this issue isn\u2019t going away and that there is more to be done,\u201d CCHI Deputy Director Adam Fox said during an Aug. 5 briefing with reporters.<\/p>\n

CCHI is a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of consumers for improved health care access.<\/p>\n

The survey, part of Healthcare Value Hub\u2019s Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey, included over 1,400 adults and was conducted online from March 26 to April 12. Researchers said the Colorado results are similar to ones in other states.<\/p>\n

The top forgone types of care were missing a doctor\u2019s visit, skipping dental care, cutting pills in half or skipping doses, and going without a recommended test or treatment.<\/p>\n

The rate of delayed care and related affordability worry is highest among Hispanic Coloradans and people who make less than $75,000 per year. It is also highest in the metro Denver area, but is similarly seen in eastern and western Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is health care costs continue to rise,\u201d Fox said. \u201cAs we\u2019ve seen other areas of cost increase \u2013 whether that\u2019s cost of living, housing, food \u2013 it just makes the health care affordability issue that much more prevalent in people\u2019s minds because they\u2019re having to make some really difficult decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

One respondent told surveyors they could not afford HIV prevention treatment after an assault. Another shared that they need to replace multiple dental fillings but their insurance only covers the cost for one. Someone else said they are putting off a medical test because they are worried about the treatment cost implications if it comes back positive. One respondent who is covered by Health First Colorado wrote that they \u201cavoid medical care in general\u201d because of the unexpected costs.<\/p>\n

Colorado lawmakers have passed various health care price transparency and savings measures in recent years, including a 2023 law that requires Medicare rates to be posted on a hospital\u2019s website and another that limits when a hospital can charge facility fees.<\/p>\n

The survey found bipartisan support for several transparency policies, such as requiring drug companies to notify and justify price increases, requiring the government to show what a procedure\u2019s fair price should be and price caps on certain lifesaving medications.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done a lot of work at the state level to put in a variety of reforms,\u201d Fox said. \u201cThe election may determine what can be accomplished at the state and federal level, and that\u2019s going to shape the policy priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Newsline, visit www.coloradonewsline.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

the past year, seven out of 10 Coloradans either went without care, became uninsured or struggled to pay medical bills due to high costs, according to a survey from the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. (Associated Press file)du1-i-syn Over two-thirds of adults in Colorado delayed or went without health care over the past year because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[120,28,61,1094],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-26195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado","tag-headlines","tag-health","tag-insurance"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26195"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=26195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}