Skyrocketing Costs Force One in Five Oregonians to Delay Health Care Despite Having Insurance
One in five people in Southwest Oregon delayed seeking attention because they could not afford health care, according to new reports by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).
11% of the State’s Residents Could Not Pay Their Medical Bills
Furthermore, 14.5 % of residents statewide could not afford health care and resisted seeking help, while the cost of dental care impacted all Oregonians. Although 97% of Oregonians have health insurance, 11% were unable to meet their medical bills in the past year.
OHA Health Policy and Analytics Director Clare Pierce-Wrobel says increased health insurance premiums and co-payments have exacerbated family budgets, where the cost of housing and food adds to ever-increasing financial burdens.
In light of these findings, the OHA this week launched a new committee to identify effective ways to make health care more affordable.
Health Care Costs Continue to Rise
The total cost of health care rose by 5.2% between 2022 and 2023. This exceeded the goal of 3.4% set since the OHA began collecting data in 2018 for the Sustainable Health Care Cost Growth Target program.
The OHA has released two reports. The first – Impact of Health Care Costs on People in Oregon, 2024 – points out that delaying health care needs can become life-threatening.
The study revealed that an average employer-sponsored family plan cost $22,796 in 2023 and that Oregonians paid almost 10% of their median household income to cover those premiums and deductibles in 2023.
Oregon households spent 21% of their 2023 budget on health-related expenses, more than any other category including housing, fuel, and utilities. The report notes that average healthcare spending reached $9,255 per person in 2023.
The second report – Health Care Cost Growth Trends in Oregon, 2022-2023 – tracks the state’s progress toward meeting its Health Care Cost Growth Target of a 3.4% annual average increase per person established in 2021.
The OHA collects and analyzes data from health insurance companies and hospital systems every year to assess collective healthcare spending.
As previously stated, Oregon’s total healthcare expenditures grew 5.2% per person between 2022 and 2023, nearly two percentage points above that target.
Medicare Costs More Than Double Than Medicaid
A breakdown of costs reveals the total cost per Oregonian on Medicare was more than double compared with Medicaid or commercial health care. Medicare provides insurance for older people and the disabled.
The biggest increase in cost was for medication provided by private doctors’ pharmacies. This increased by 12.6% between 2022 and 2023.
Oregonians spent the most amount of money in 2023 on medications for cancer treatments and age-related macular degeneration disorders.
The OHA has announced that it will publish detailed data on cost escalations for individual medical groups, health systems, and provider organizations for the same period later in 2025.
Organizations exceeding the target without acceptable cause will have to provide the OHA with a performance improvement plan.