HPIO data brief explores healthcare affordability challenges for Ohioans

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The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released a new data brief titled Healthcare Affordability Challenges for Working Ohioans that presents current data on the cost of basic needs for working Ohioans, access to adequate health insurance and the cost of health care for Ohio families.
 
“Many Ohio families are facing significant cost of living challenges, of which healthcare expenses are an increasingly pressing problem,” according to the brief. “While having adequate health insurance is important, individuals with all coverage types may face large medical bills, leading to difficult financial decisions. When individuals forgo care due to cost, it can lead to even larger expenditures later in life, including expensive emergency department visits and inpatient hospitalizations.”
 
Recent state and federal policy changes are likely to be consequential for health care affordability in Ohio, especially among people enrolled in Medicaid and Federal Health Insurance Marketplace plans (see HPIO’s recently released fact sheet on state and federal policy changes). Given the high healthcare costs and challenging situations that many Ohio families already face, policy changes impacting insurance access and out-of-pocket spending may continue to exacerbate financial insecurity and disparities across different communities.

The data brief is the second in a planned series of HPIO publications that includes data and analysis about the current challenges facing working Ohioans and examines how recent federal and state policy changes will impact access to care and affordability in Ohio.