One in four Millennials and Z-generation young people are unable to cover their rent or mortgage due to medical debt, even though they had insurance.
This was revealed by a analysis conducted by the insurer HealthCare.comwhich notes that younger generations of Americans are saddled with medical debt that makes it difficult for them to keep a secure roof over their heads.
Zillennials or "Z" generation are those born between 1997 and 2010; while Millennials or "Y" generation, between 1981 and 1996, according to the Pew Research Center. This would indicate that those under the age of 40 have more trouble meeting their medical debts.
According to the study, more than half of Millennials (52 percent) and Generation Xers born between 1965 and 1980 (48 percent) said their credit scores have suffered from medical debt, making it difficult for them to access loans.
Meanwhile, 2 out of 3 members of Generation "Z" (68 percent) who have health insurance, but with medical debt, reported that their coverage was not enough to pay for the services received, indicating that it is more difficult for them to access them.
In addition, it details that more than half of U.S. adults with incomes of less than $25,000 had their medical bills sent to debt collectors, making their credit history suffer and making it more difficult for them to finance their debt.
Notably, 22 percent of Baby Boomers (1946 and 1964) with medical debt plan to dip into their retirement savings, while 22 percent of Generation Z with medical debt say they will turn to crowdfunding - voluntary contributions made through digital platforms - to pay their healthcare bills.
Debt triggers vary by generation, as while the most common cause of medical debt for Generation "Z" and Millennials was seeking care after an accident or injury (26 percent and 25 percent, respectively), for Generation "X," the most common trigger was chronic illness, such as cancer or heart conditions (18 percent).
A similar number of Baby Boomers cited chronic illness as the leading cause.
Men are more likely than women to collectively finance 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 use credit cards (27 versus 19 percent), retirement savings (15 versus 11 percent) or crowdfunding (13 versus 8 percent).
The analysis notes that 55 percent of men and 45 percent of women with medical debt say they have tried to negotiate down, however, triggers also vary by gender.
Men (18 percent) are more likely than women (10 percent) to say that their clinical bills were related to chronic pain.
Among men with health care debt, the leading medical expense generating 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 collection.
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