4 in 10 saddled with debt from medical, dental bills: poll

Four out of 10 Americans say they are saddled with active debt from medical and dental polls, according to a new KFF Health Care Debt Survey. 

The new poll, published on Thursday, found that 24 percent of those surveyed said they have medical or dental bills that are past due or haven’t been paid, while 21 percent of respondents said they have medical or dental bills that they are paying off over time directly to their provider. 

Fifty-seven percent of respondents who live in households with an income under $40,000 said that they have medical or dental bills that are past due, while 41 percent of those surveyed who live in households that earn up to $89,000 said the same thing, according to the poll. 

Forty-seven percent of respondents who don’t have a college degree said they have health care debt, while 31 percent of respondents who have college degrees said that they have health care debt as well.

Forty-eight percent of female respondents in the poll said they have medical or dental debt that is due, as 34 percent of male respondents said the same thing, the poll reported. 

This comes as 40 percent of respondents who are 18 to 29 years of age said they have health care bill debt, as 22 percent of those surveyed who are 65 years and older said that they have medical or dental bill debt. 

Fifty-six percent of Black respondents said they have health care bills that are past due, as 50 percent of Hispanic respondents and 37 percent of white respondents said the same thing. 

Sixty-two percent of respondents who don’t have health insurance said that they have medical or dental bill debt, while 44 percent of those surveyed who have health insurance said the same thing. 

The new KFF Health Care Debt Survey was conducted from Feb. 25 to March 20.