Medical Debt Takes a Toll on Savings

Far too many Americans have more medical debt than they have emergency savings, according to a new report from Bankrate.

In fact, around 25% of people surveyed by the company were in that predicament. This number jumps to 44% among people earning less than $30,000 annually.

Even those who aren’t encumbered by debt worry about the future costs of their medical care. Bankrate said that 55% of its responders worry that they will are not have affordable health insurance in the future.

More than half (55%) worry that they will be overwhelmed by medical debt some day.

This worry has real consequences for the economy. Not only do people who are encumbered by medical debt have less ability to participate in the economy, but even the worry of coping with medical costs can act as a drag on consumer confidence, and spending.

Clearly, the job of making health care affordable is far from done, and more important than ever.