Many families have difficulty affording medical care for their children

December 11, 2023

Source: Daw, JAMA Health Forum November 22, 2023 LINK

Researchers in JAMA Health Forum published results from a large (over 200,000) national survey showing that almost a third of families with private health insurance reported difficulty affording their children’s medical care. These results have not changed much over the last five years. Forty two percent of families with private insurance which have children with multiple chronic conditions reported difficulty affording care.

Here is data on frequency of cost sharing of over $1000 annually:

Source: Daw, JAMA Health Forum November 22, 2023 LINK

Implications for Employers:

• Employers are already taking notice of this potential issue, and the portion of employers which offer employees only high deductible health plans has declined from 21% (2018) to 16% (2023) according to WTW’s Best Practices in Heathcare Survey.

• Employers can use actuarial tools to determine what portion of their employees are at risk for financial insecurity due to health care costs, and adjust their plans accordingly. For instance, employer use of salary banding to offer lower premiums to lower wage employees is on the rise.

• Here’s an article I coauthored with my colleague Steve Nyce in Harvard Business Review in 2019 “Making Health Care Affordable for Low-Wage Workers.”

Tuesday: Remote blood pressure monitoring improved care (but didn’t save money)

Thanks for reading.  You can find previous posts in the Employer Coverage archive

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