It’s not news that Kentucky is one of the sickest states in the county, but as a new poll shows health woes increasingly impact the middle class.
Ben Chandler is president and CEO of the Foundation For A Healthy Kentucky. He said economic trends impact how middle-class families access health care.
“Those people have seen their incomes stagnate they are working longer hours, they are seeing insurance costs go up, their copays are going up, their deductibles are going up and they’ve got nobody to absorb those cost but themselves,” he said
Chandler said the poll also shows there has been a 17 point drop in the last decade in the number of people
who say they are in good or excellent health. Overall fewer than half of Kentuckians say they are in good or excellent health.
While some might try to pin the decline on Obamacare, Chandler said this situation was evolving long before healthcare reform.
“This has been a problem in our society for a very, very long time and we are not fixing it, we continue to see costs rise,” he said.
The poll released today (Thursday) was funded by the foundation and Interact for Health.
