High Costs, Systemic Racism Plagues Health Care, Colorado Survey Finds

By Sara Wilson, Colorado Newsline

March 18, 2022

Almost half of Coloradans have delayed a recommended medical treatment due to affordability or access issues, according to a new survey assessing attitudes toward health care reform.

“Unfortunately, the findings from the survey are not terribly surprising to us in many ways. They are stark and, in some ways, discouraging because of how Coloradans feel about the affordability of health care and some of the barriers they are facing,” Adam Fox, the deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, during a Thursday call summarizing the findings.

The survey was conducted in mid-January and included over-samples of people of color to ensure their voices were included.

Responders said they put off medical care for a few reasons: 30% said treatment was too unaffordable, 19% said insurance denied coverage and 9% said the procedure or treatment was not available where they live. The majority of those people who put off care were between 18 and 34 years old.

“That speaks to some of the geographic disparities that we see in our state,” Fox said.

The survey found that people thought emergency room costs, surprise hospital bills, health insurance deductibles, post-care bills and prescription drug costs were the most unaffordable aspects of care.