New Survey Finds Mainers Just One Major Medical Event or Illness From Financial Disaster

A new survey of Maine voters finds that over two-thirds of Mainers believe that just one major medical event would cause them financial disaster. The survey of 500 registered voters conducted by the group Consumers for Affordable Health Care found four out of 10 report lose sleep over the cost of health care or insurance. When asked whether “the health care system in Maine is broken,” three quarters of adults either somewhat or strongly agreed.

Other highlights of the survey include:

• Almost six out of ten Mainers with commercial insurance are concerned that they will experience a gap in their coverage because they cannot afford health insurance.
• More than one in three Mainers skipped or delayed going to the doctor when they were sick due to costs.
• One in four Mainers cut pills in half, skipped doses of a medication, or delayed or did not fill a prescription due to cost.
• More than four out of ten Mainers have medical debt in their household.
• Nearly one in three Mainers were contacted by a collection agency within the past two years due to a medical bill. Of those who had been contacted by a collection agency, 83% reported it was due to a hospital bill.

This is why the Maine AFL-CIO has endorsed a Medicare for All type program for the nation so that no one has to struggle to pay for basic medical necessities.