Life Disruptions for Midlife and Older Adults With High Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditures.

The article presents information on a study conducted to investigate the social, medical, financial, and legal disruptions caused due to high out-of-pocket health expenses. In the study, interviews were conducted with 33 insured patients suffering from chronic illnesses who sought philanthropic financial assistance. The study found that high levels of cost sharing resulted in anxiety and debt problems, disruptions of medical care, and threats to the household budgets of the patients.