Posted on Jul 19, 2022
Kansas and Missouri health care is saddling people of color with debt
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Communities of color here face a burden of medical debt that dwarfs what white people experience, and what people of color experience in many other states
People of color in Kansas and Missouri are often saddled with medical debt. That hurts their credit and their ability to get good loans, to buy homes and a range of other things that fuel middle class wealth.
The Urban Institute crunched data from millions of credit reports across the country by ZIP code.
In both Kansas and Missouri, nearly one-third of adults in predominantly non-white ZIP codes have medical debt in collections.
That makes it twice as common in communities of color — compared to mostly white ZIP codes — to face collectors pursuing them over medical bills.
People of color in Kansas and Missouri are often saddled with medical debt. That hurts their credit and their ability to get good loans, to buy homes and a range of other things that fuel middle class wealth.
The Urban Institute crunched data from millions of credit reports across the country by ZIP code.
In both Kansas and Missouri, nearly one-third of adults in predominantly non-white ZIP codes have medical debt in collections.
That makes it twice as common in communities of color — compared to mostly white ZIP codes — to face collectors pursuing them over medical bills.
Kansas and Missouri health care is saddling people of color with debt
Posted from kcur.org
Medical
Health
Money
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Babies are more likely to be born with a low birth weight and people are on the whole more likely to die prematurely in historically redlined and low-income Wyandotte County, for example, than the rest of Kansas.
Meanwhile, other research released this year revealed that even people with health insurance in Kansas and Missouri face increasing financial hardships.
The Commonwealth Fund ranked Kansas and Missouri among the five states where average premiums and deductibles for work-based insurance top $9,000 a year. Missouri deductibles were so high that the Commonwealth Fund considers the average middle-income earner there “underinsured.”
Companies struggle to negotiate with health care providers and insurance companies, and they pass more of the cost to their employees each year.
The Fund found that Kansas families with work-based insurance pay 36% of the premiums themselves, compared to 33% for Missouri families and 29% across the U.S.
The Kansas Health Institute says premiums in Kansas for private sector, work-based insurance rose at twice the pace of inflation from 2010 to 2020. The institute is funded by the Kansas Health Foundation, a supporter of the Kansas News Service."
..."Babies are more likely to be born with a low birth weight and people are on the whole more likely to die prematurely in historically redlined and low-income Wyandotte County, for example, than the rest of Kansas.
Meanwhile, other research released this year revealed that even people with health insurance in Kansas and Missouri face increasing financial hardships.
The Commonwealth Fund ranked Kansas and Missouri among the five states where average premiums and deductibles for work-based insurance top $9,000 a year. Missouri deductibles were so high that the Commonwealth Fund considers the average middle-income earner there “underinsured.”
Companies struggle to negotiate with health care providers and insurance companies, and they pass more of the cost to their employees each year.
The Fund found that Kansas families with work-based insurance pay 36% of the premiums themselves, compared to 33% for Missouri families and 29% across the U.S.
The Kansas Health Institute says premiums in Kansas for private sector, work-based insurance rose at twice the pace of inflation from 2010 to 2020. The institute is funded by the Kansas Health Foundation, a supporter of the Kansas News Service."
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