Three out of four Kentuckians (77 percent) are worried about affording health care, according to data briefs released by the Healthcare Value Hub in collaboration with the ThriveKY Campaign. The findings come from a new Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey of 1,140 Kentucky adults. Reported problems range from delaying going to the doctor (30 percent) to rationing medicine (20 percent). When asked about affording treatment for COVID-19, 59 percent of Kentucky respondents were worried or very worried. The eastern region of Kentucky reports the highest rate of concern over health care affordability, with 84 percent of residents experiencing worry.
Dissatisfaction with the current healthcare system is both statewide and bipartisan—71 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the [health care] system needs to change, and 69 percent of respondents identified health care as the priority issue the government should focus on in the next year. Respondents endorsed a number of strategies to tackle health care costs, but the clear frontrunner, at 91 percent, was to “expand health insurance options so that everyone can afford quality coverage.”
To access the complete data briefs, click here.
Contact: Emily Beauregard at 502.882.0584 or emily.beauregard@kyvoicesforhealth.org.