69 pct. of young moms incur medical debt

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.