Nearly two-thirds of Texans delayed health care due to costs last year, poll finds

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Nearly two-thirds of Texas adults, or 64%, reported delaying health care access due to costs, according to a new poll released Wednesday by the health policy research group Episcopal Health Foundation.

The organization surveyed nearly 2,000 Texas adults between October and December 2023 as part of its annual poll designed to get a pulse check on health policy, affordability and accessibility in Texas. The poll's findings revealed younger Texas adults, Hispanic adults and those with lower income levels were more likely to experience challenges affording health care access compared to their peers.

Among the survey's total population, 47% reported challenges affording health care, with 25% saying it was somewhat difficult to afford and 22% sharing it was very difficult to cover. The poll's findings revealed affordability gaps among age groups, with only 19% of those ages 65 and older reporting affordability problems compared to 54% of those between ages 18-64 saying they struggled to pay medical costs.

Broken down by racial and ethnic groups, those surveyed shared the following responses:

• 41% of Asian and American Pacific Islander respondents reported difficulties covering medical costs
• 61% of Hispanic respondents reported difficulties covering medical costs
• 44% of Black respondents reported difficulties covering medical costs
• 38% of white respondents reported difficulties covering medical costs

Within the 64% of Texas adults who said they'd skipped or postponed health care due to costs, a wide margin of them specifically skipped out on dental care and checkups (49%) or postponed necessary health care appointments. (47%). Others said they skipped a recommended medical test or treatment (35%), 26% reported not filling a medication prescription, 20% shared difficulties accessing mental health care and 19% said they cut pills in half or skipped doses of medicine due to cost concerns.

An analysis of medical care affordability between 2018 and 2023 found while levels fluctuated over time, those skipping or postponing medical care or struggling to pay medical bills have trended higher overall since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

• 2018: 61% skipped or postponed medical care due to costs and 38% reported difficulties paying for medical bills
• 2019: 60% skipped or postponed medical care due to costs and 39% reported difficulties paying for medical bills
• 2020: 53% skipped or postponed medical care due to costs and 33% reported difficulties paying for medical bills
• 2021: 59% skipped or postponed medical care due to costs and 35% reported difficulties paying for medical bills
• 2022: 68% skipped or postponed medical care due to costs and 43% reported difficulties paying for medical bills
• 2023: 64% skipped or postponed medical care due to costs and 37% reported difficulties paying for medical bills

Other findings noted in the survey included concerns of state leadership not doing enough to make health care more accessible to specific populations. Among respondents, 68% said more work needs to be done for low-income residents, 57% said improvements are needed to expand child health care access, 50% said Texas leaders aren't doing enough to improve women's health care access and 48% said more work is needed to improve immigrants' health care access.

The complete report and poll's analyses are available online.