69 pct. of young moms incur medical debt

Published: April 28, 2008 at 10:20 PM

NEW YORK, April 28 (UPI) -- Sixty-nine percent of young mothers ages 18 to 34 have incurred medical debt, a survey indicates.

That compares to 30 percent for all U.S. women, according to the "What do Women Want?" survey of 3,000 women conducted by by Meredith Corp. and NBC Universal.

The survey also says two-thirds of women cite financial strain as a major threat to the American family -- and a much bigger threat than divorce, loss of faith/spirituality, liberal views on sex and sexuality, both parents working, unwed mothers and couples living together.

Forty-six percent of women are extremely concerned about rising healthcare costs and 18 percent reported they do not have health insurance coverage -- 24 percent among single mothers with minor children.

Among those women who do have health coverage, 46 percent are worried about being able to afford healthcare when they retire and 40 percent say their "co-payments keep increasing and becoming too expensive."

One-quarter of insured women say they can only afford generic prescriptions and 22 percent sometimes don't fill a prescription because it is too expensive.

The nationwide survey of women ages 18 to 64 has an margin of error of plus/minus 2.5 percentage points.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
NBA: Washington 106, Toronto 102 (9 min)
Mammography may up cancer risk in some (16 min)
UPI Sports Calendar for Wednesday, Dec. 2 (22 min)
UPI NewsTrack Sports (22 min)
Receptionist, 87, has no retirement plans (31 min)
COL BKB: Florida 80, Florida A&M 59 (34 min)
NBA: Boston 108, Charlotte 90 (36 min)
fark
When you have 400 pounds of marijuana in your home it would be smarter to pop a DiGiorno in the...
Photoshop this big boar
There is only one response when your neighbor is chasing you with a lawnmower blade and asking you...
How not to handle your dad getting fired as GM CEO
Apparently, Charles Dickens left us with one, and only one, manuscript of "A Christmas Carol", and...
If you live in Maricopa County, you may want to get stocked up on popcorn. The Arizona cop ordered...