What a shock.
Pew discovers that the (white) middle class is deferring healthcare due to rising costs, while the (non-white) lower classes are doing the exact opposite.
Pew doesn’t mention the racial breakdown. That’s my conjecture.
So, can we have a demographic breakdown here:
The hardest-hit: the middle-class. Americans with an annual household income of between $30,000 and $75,000 began delaying medical care over costs more in 2014, up to 38 percent in 2014 from 33 percent last year; among households that earn above $75,000, 28 percent delayed care this year, compared to just 17 percent last year.
And can we have another demographic breakdown here:
The lowest-income section, some of whom can take part in Medicaid and who are more likely to qualify for significant premium and cost-sharing subsidies on an Obamacare exchange, are less likely to delay care this year. Now, 35 percent of those who earn under $30,000 a year are putting off seeking medical care, down from 43 percent last year.
The Daily Caller piece notes:
It’s a remarkable shift: after Obamacare’s redistribution of wealth, the middle class is actually delaying medical care due to high costs at a higher rate than the poorest section of the country, which is highly subsidized by taxpayers.
The growing problem could have serious consequences for the middle-class. Twice as many people (22 percent) have delayed treatment for serious illnesses than than for smaller problems (11 percent).
Qua Gruber and The Organizer, we gotta ‘spread the wealth around’.
Si! Se puede!
