A study published March 25 in Health Affairs found that the ratio of out-of-pocket health care expenditures to family income, the financial burden of health care, increased nationally from 2001 to 2006.  The study found significant variance between states but noted that such variance owes more to differing levels of average income than state-level differences in out-of-pocket costs.  The authors noted that rising health care costs affected all socioeconomic strata, finding that the financial burden of health care was highest among middle and upper-income people.  Finally, the study also found that 30 percent of U.S. citizens have a high financial burden of health care or are uninsured.

Cunningham, P.J. (2010).  The growing financial burden of health care: national and state trends, 2001–2006. Health Affairs, published online March 25, 2010. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0493. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.2009.0493v1

Author: Peter J. Cunningham