Healthcare is becoming less affordable for people, especially women, with employer-sponsored health insurance, according to a report published Dec. 27 in JAMA.
NYU School of Global Public Health analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey collected between 2000 and 2020, according to a Dec. 27 news release from the university. The analysis included data for more than 238,000 adults aged 19 to 64 who obtained their health insurance through an employer or union.
Five things to know:
1. About 6 percent of women found medical care unaffordable in 2020, compared to 3 percent in 2000, according to the release. About 3 percent of men said medical care was unaffordable in 2020, compared to 2 percent in 2000.
2. On average, 3.9 percent of women and 2.7 percent of men reported that medical care was unaffordable.
3. On average, 8.1 percent of women and 5.4 percent of men said dental care was unaffordable.
4. On average, 2.1 percent of women and 0.8 percent of men reported that mental healthcare was unaffordable.
5. "Lower incomes and higher health care needs among women could be driving these differences in reported affordability," Avni Gupta, the study's lead author, said in the release. "Employer-sponsored insurance plans need to redesign their benefit packages to reduce sex-based disparities."