92 percent of US adults are not going to the doctor – too expensive

JohnFen

Medical care in the US is insanely expensive, but also -- at least in some parts of the country -- it can be difficult to get at any price. Good luck finding a doctor that is taking new patients at all in my part of the country.

jerlam

It's not just that it's too expensive. It's the uncertainty. No one knows how much anything costs until you get the bill several months afterwards. Every time you go to the doctor, you're giving them a blank check.

SpicyLemonZest

This number sounds implausibly high to me, and I can’t find any information on the exact survey question. If someone has some muscle aches, but they don’t go to the doctor immediately because it’s probably nothing and they don’t want to pay the copay, is that counted as delaying medical care due to cost?

quickthrowman

I don’t believe the headline, full stop. More than 8% of people go to the doctor. I don’t care how they defined “not going to the doctor”, if someone has a painful infection or trouble breathing, they’re going to the doctor. What counts for the purposes of ‘medical treatment’? Does getting a quote for plastic surgery and not doing it count as ‘delaying care’? Whatever polling was done is so broad that it’s meaningless, you might as well claim 100% of people forego medical care.

kdamica

Given that 20% of Americans have a net worth above $1M, all of the stats in this article seem way too high. For example, it says that 85% of Americans have medical debt. I probably owe a copay or two that gets lost in the mail and I eventually pay. Do I count in that 85%?