One in four millennials and generations Z cannot cover their rent or mortgage due to medical debt, even though they have insurance.
This was revealed by a Analysis conducted by the insurer HealthCare.com, which notes that younger generations of Americans are mired in medical debt that makes it difficult for them to afford a safe roof over their heads.
Zillennials or generation "Z" are those born between 1997 and 2010, while Millennials or generation "Y" are those born between 1981 and 1996, according to the Pew Research Center. This would indicate that those under 40 years of age have more problems paying off their medical debts.
According to the study, more than half of Millennials (52 percent) and Generation Xers (48 percent) born between 1965 and 1980) said their credit scores have suffered because of medical debt, making it harder for them to access loans.
Meanwhile, 2 in 3 members of Generation Z (68 percent) who have health insurance but are facing medical debt reported that their coverage was not sufficient to pay for the services they received, indicating that it is more difficult for them to access them.
In addition, it details that more than half of American adults with incomes below 25 thousand dollars have had their medical bills sent to debt collectors, which affects their credit history and, to make matters worse, makes it more difficult for them to finance their debt.
Notably, 22 percent of Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) with medical debt plan to dip into their retirement savings, while 22 percent of Gen Zers with medical debt say they will turn to crowdfunding—voluntary contributions made through digital platforms—to pay their health care bills.
Debt triggers vary by generation, as while the most common cause of medical debt for Gen Z and Millennials was seeking care after an accident or injury (26 and 25 percent, respectively), for Gen X, the most common trigger was chronic illnesses, such as cancer or heart disease (18 percent).
A similar number of Baby Boomers cited chronic disease as the leading cause.
Men are more likely than women to crowdfund medical debt.
Although men and women are equally likely to have them, they may take different approaches when it comes to paying for them.
Men are more likely than women to turn to credit cards (27 vs. 19 percent), retirement savings (15 vs. 11 percent) or crowdfunding (13 vs. 8 percent).
The analysis found that 55 percent of men and 45 percent of women with medical debt say they have tried to negotiate a reduction, but triggers also vary by gender.
Men (18 percent) are more likely than women (10 percent) to say their medical bills were related to chronic pain.
Among men with health care debt, the primary medical expense leading to debt was accident and/or injury (21 percent), while for women, the most common reason was chronic illness (17 percent), followed closely by accident and/or injury (16 percent).
According to the Urban Institute, Communities of color are the hardest hit when it comes to medical debt, with one in four having their bills in collections.
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