2026年9月17日 美国东部时间上午11:27 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
作者：梅根·塞鲁洛 MoneyWatch 记者
一项最新分析显示，即便拥有健康保险的美国人也在累积医疗债务。
无党派卫生政策研究机构英联邦基金周四在一份报告中指出，每三名通过雇主、奥巴马医改交易所或私人市场获得医保的美国人中，就有一人表示自己背负着需要分期偿还的医疗债务。
住院治疗是医疗债务的主要来源，近三分之二的美国成年人表示背负着与此类护理相关的债务。研究还发现，患者也会因常规医疗服务产生债务，比如看医生门诊、做实验室检查或诊断测试。
该研究的主要作者、英联邦基金卫生经济学家萨拉·柯林斯在接受哥伦比亚广播公司新闻采访时表示：“这些人背负债务的主要原因，在于保险覆盖自付费用的程度。”
“无力偿还”
调查显示，近一半有医疗债务的美国人——约占所有有私人保险的劳动年龄成年人的15%——欠债至少2000美元。英联邦基金的数据显示，为了偿还这些账单，37%的人耗尽了积蓄，30%的人削减了食品、取暖或房租等基本生活开支，还有30%的人表示推迟或放弃了医疗护理。
柯林斯说：“大多数美国人没有多少闲置现金，当他们在一个月里需要用收入支付所有生活必需品时，突然出现一笔额外开支，就可能让人们陷入无力偿还的医疗债务。尤其是低收入人群，他们的家庭预算本就十分紧凑，医疗账单很容易让预算彻底崩盘，导致他们无力支付某些开支，不得不削减支出。”
此次调查结果基于对6353名成年人的电话和线上调查，样本具有全国代表性。
柯林斯在接受采访时表示，背负高额医疗债务的人可以采取一些措施寻求救济。例如，医疗服务机构可能会开出包含错误收费的账单，如果消费者认为收费有误，就应该提出异议。
柯林斯指出，一些消费者不敢质疑这类收费，担心不付款会损害自己的信用评分。“这是一个两难的处境，但确保你被要求支付的费用准确无误非常重要。”
当医保拒绝支付医疗服务费用时，人们还可以联系保险公司和医疗服务机构，协商制定降低自付费用的还款计划。
编辑：阿兰·谢特尔
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/fighting-health-care-insurers/
Fighting health care insurers (05:19)
1 in 3 Americans with health insurance have medical debt, survey finds
September 17, 2026 11:27 AM EDT / CBS News
By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Even Americans with health insurance are piling up medical debt, according to a new analysis.
One in three Americans with health coverage through their employer, the Affordable Care Act marketplace or the private market say they have medical debt that they are paying off over time, the Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan health policy research group, said in a report on Thursday.
Hospital visits are the primary source of medical debt, with nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults reporting carrying debt related to such care. Patients also carry debt stemming from obtaining routine medical care, such as doctor’s office visits or getting lab or diagnostic tests, the study found.
“The primary reason why these people have debt is about the extent to which their insurance covers their out-of-pocket costs,” Sara Collins, the study’s lead author and a health economist at the Commonwealth Fund, told CBS News.
“Unable to pay”
Almost half of Americans with medical debt, which amounts to about 15% of all working-age, privately insured adults, owe at least $2,000, according to the survey. To pay those bills, 37% said they drained their savings, while 30% reported cutting back on essentials like food, heat or rent, according to the Commonwealth Fund. Thirty percent also reported delaying or forgoing medical care.
“Most Americans don’t have a lot of extra cash lying around, and when they are hit with an unexpected expense in a month when their income is allocated across all necessities of life, it can push people into medical debt they are unable to pay,” Collins said. “Especially among people who are low-income, they are on pretty regimented household budgets, and medical bills can really tip that budget over into the realm of not being able to pay for certain things and having to cut back.”
The findings were based on a telephone and online survey with a nationally representative sample of 6,353 adults.
There are some steps people with heavy medical debt can take to seek relief, Collins told CBS News. For example, healthcare providers may send a bill with erroneous charges, and the consumer should dispute them if they believe the charges were a mistake.
Some consumers are hesitant to challenge such charges for fear that failing to pay will hurt their credit scores, Collins noted. “It’s a tough situation to be in, but it’s important to make sure what you are being asked to pay is correct.”
When coverage for medical services is denied, people can also contact their insurers and healthcare providers to negotiate a payment plan that lowers their out-of-pocket expenses.
Edited by Alain Sherter
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/fighting-health-care-insurers/Fighting health care insurers (05:19)
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