Nearly half of consumers say affording medical bills is a hardship them and their family, up 10 points from a year ago, according to a new poll.
The poll released Thursday by the New York Times and CBS News found that a growing number of people say affording basic health care is tougher a year into the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Last year, 36 percent of consumers said paying for health care was a hardship.
Many respondents pointed to growing out-of-pocket costs: 33 percent said those cost have gone up "a lot," 19 percent said they've gone up a little and 39 percent said they've stayed about the same. Just 5 percent reported decreases in out-of-pocket costs. For those who reported higher costs, about three-quarters blamed the increase simply on medical treatments becoming more expensive, rather than more treatment and utilization.
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