<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">Axios</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">November 22, 2017</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">The biggest health issue we aren’t debating</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">By Drew Altman</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">Thanksgiving is always a time to think about those in need. How about, then, a group we don't worry about enough: the many lower and moderate income Americans who can't cover their cost sharing if they get sick? It raises the question: How much cost sharing is too much?</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">High deductible plans, which require people to pay large amounts out of pocket before their medical bills are covered, are a good deal for some middle and upper income people. But many lower and moderate income Americans simply don't have $1,500 to $3,000 to pay for the colonoscopy that might save their life, or a stress test that might reveal the heart disease which is the cause of their chest discomfort.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">Share of non-elderly households with liquid assets less than their deductibles, among people with private insurance:</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">Deductible of $1500 single/$3000 family:</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">28% All non-elderly households</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">63% Less than 150% of federal poverty level (FPL)</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">44% 150-400% of FPL</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">10% 400% or more of FPL</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">Deductible of $3000 single/$6000 family:</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">40% All non-elderly households</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">76% Less than 1505 of FPL</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">60% 150-400% of FPL</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">20% 400% or more of FPL</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">The chart, drawn from a new study, tells the tale: More than four in 10 households with private coverage and incomes between 150% and 400% of the federal poverty line do not have enough liquid assets to cover a deductible of $1,500 for single people and $3,000 for families.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">* That's not a high deductible plan, but about the average in an employer-provided insurance plan.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">* Sixty percent couldn't cover deductibles double those amounts, which are not uncommon, especially in the individual insurance market.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">For many families, even if they have insurance, any significant illness could wipe out all their savings, making impossible to fix a broken car to get to work, or pay for school, or make a rent or mortgage payment.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">Congress has passed no law declaring that the country will go with high deductible coverage as its main approach to health insurance.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><a href="https://www.axios.com/the-biggest-health-issue-we-arent-debating-2511098849.html" class="">https://www.axios.com/the-biggest-health-issue-we-arent-debating-2511098849.html</a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class="">===</div></body></html>