The National Center for Health Statistics has released updated estimates for the percentage of persons under age 65 who were in families having problems paying medical bills. The updated estimates are based on data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and are based on five consecutive six-month periods from January-June 2011 to January-June 2013. Selected highlights from "Problems Paying Medical Bills: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January 2011-June 2013," include the following:
- The percentage of persons under the age of 65 who were in families having problems paying medical bills decreased from 21.7 percent (57.6 million) in the first six months of 2011 to 19.8 percent (52.8 million) in the first six months of 2013.
- Within each six-month period from January 2011 through June 2013, children ages 0-17 years old were more likely than adults ages 18-64 to be in families having problems paying medical bills.
- The percentage of children who were 0-17 years old who were in families having problems paying medical bills decreased from 23.7 percent in the first six months of 2011 to 21.3 percent in the first six months of 2013.
- In the first six months of 2013, 28.6 percent of poor, 33.3 percent of near poor, and 14.3 percent of not poor persons under age 65 were in families having problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months.