2020 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey
In nearly all countries, adults with lower income were significantly more likely than those with higher income to have multiple chronic health conditions. However, on nearly every measure the study used, income-related disparities were greatest in the U.S.:
More than one-third (36%) of U.S. adults with lower income have two or more chronic conditions — significantly more than in other countries.
Approximately one-third of adults with lower income in the U.S. (36%), Australia (36%), and Canada (34%) reported having anxiety or depression, the highest rates in the survey. Their counterparts in Germany (14%) and Switzerland (15%) were the least likely to report anxiety or depression.
More than one-quarter (28%) of U.S. adults with lower income said that, in the past year, they worried about being able to afford basic necessities such as food or housing, a significantly greater proportion than seen in other countries, where 6 percent to 22 percent reported this.
Half of U.S. adults with lower income don’t get needed care because it’s too costly. In the survey, 50 percent reported skipping doctor visits, recommended tests, treatments or follow-up care, or prescription medications in the past year because of the cost. In contrast, just 12 percent to 15 percent of adults with lower income in Germany, the U.K., Norway, and France reported doing the same.
