Being in “poor health” is far more than just a saying, according to a new University of Michigan study.
In fact, adults’ risk of serious financial problems rises directly with the number of chronic health conditions they have, the study of nearly 3 million privately insured adults finds.
They didn’t need to have rare conditions, either. The study focuses on relatively common long-term conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, cancer, dementia, stroke, substance use disorders and common ailments of the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver.
The more of these conditions someone had, the higher their odds of being late on credit payments, having poor credit scores, having a collection agency get involved in debts from unpaid medical or other bills, or going through bankruptcy.
In all, people who had seven or more of these conditions had three to four times the risk of each of these financial calamities, compared with those who had no chronic conditions, according to the findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
And for the 10% of people who had medical debts in collections, the study shows which conditions were linked with the highest debts. Stroke, serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, and substance use disorders topped the chart.
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