(NewsNation) — About 31 million Americans had to borrow money to pay for health care services for themselves or someone in their household in the last year, a recent Gallup poll revealed.
That’s about 12% of U.S. adults. It’s estimated they borrowed $74 billion in the past 12 months, with a majority of respondents (58%) borrowing at least $500.
Data shows clear distinctions between who needs extra help paying for care and who doesn’t need the assistance.
Who’s most likely to borrow money for health care?
A majority of respondents who reported borrowing money were under 50 years old: 18% for 18 to 29-year-olds, 17% for 30 to 39-year-olds, and 16% for 40 to 49-year-olds.
Those aged 50 to 64 saw a steep drop to 9%, while only 2% of those who reported borrowing were 65 and older.
Of the likely borrowers, women were considerably more likely to need help paying bills no matter their age, though the gap between genders disappeared among those 65 and older.
Americans with minor children in their household were more than twice as likely, 19% vs. 8%, than those without to borrow.
The racial breakdown found that Black adults, 23%, and Hispanic adults, 16%, were more likely to report borrowing money than their white counterparts, 9%. Younger age exacerbated need among all three groups.
Majority of Americans concerned about medical debt
A majority (58%) of respondents said they were “somewhat” or “very” concerned about getting into medical debt if a major health event were to happen.
Despite Medicare eligibility for those 65 and above, 52% of that age group reported some level of concern.
Respondents under 65 reported an even higher level of anxiety (roughly 60%) about potentially accruing medical debt.
Parallel to those who reported borrowing, concern over medical debt was heightened between genders, 62% of women compared to 54% of men, and races.
While only 56% of white adults reported worry about medical debt, 62% of Black adults and 63% of Hispanic adults expressed concern.
