Even Insured Americans Can’t Afford Medical Bills

Millions of Americans are struggling under the crushing weight of rapidly rising health care costs that now force them to choose between putting food on the table or taking care of their health. Even with insurance, medical bills have become backbreaking as health care expenditures devoured more than 17 percent of the U.S. GDP, an increase of 4.1 percent from the year before. Runaway Growth of Health Costs Over the past few decades, health care expenditures in the United States have skyrocketed. Costs rocketed to nearly $4.5 trillion in 2022 despite reduced services during the pandemic, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers the Medicare program, show. The agency predicts national health expenditures will soar to nearly $7 trillion by 2030....