Twenty Five percent of Americans say they currently have more medical debt than emergency savings, according to a new Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) report. This number nearly doubles (44%) among those earning less than $30,000 per year.
Furthermore, people who do not currently have medical debt are concerned about it. Over half of Americans (55%) are worried they will find themselves overwhelmed by medical debt (27% are very worried and 28% are somewhat worried).
The report found that worry levels were the highest among people in their prime earning years, between the ages of 30 and 64.
These results comprise Bankrate.com’s Health Insurance Pulse, a monthly survey that tracks how Americans are feeling about health care and their personal finances. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and can be seen in its entirety here:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/health-insurance-poll-0814.aspx