Kaiser/NPR survey finds Ohioans struggling with health care costs

A new survey of voters in Ohio and Florida has found that a quarter of Ohioans report that they or someone they know has had trouble paying medical bills in the past year (Source: Health Care and the Economy in Two Swing States: A Look at Ohio and Florida, Kaiser Family Foundation Web site, July 17, 2008).

Other finding from the survey, conducted jointly by National Public Radio and the Kaiser Family Foundation, included:

• 28 percent of Ohioans reported that they have had trouble paying for health insurance in the past year

• 14 percent said they used up all or most of their savings in the past year to pay medical bills

• 16 percent of all adults in Ohio said they have been contacted by a collection agency in the past two years about unpaid medical bills

• 40 percent of Ohioans said they would like the presidential candidates to talk about reducing the cost of health care and insurance and a third wanted the candidates to address providing coverage for the uninsured