{"id":20837,"date":"2020-06-02T03:30:34","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T03:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=20837"},"modified":"2020-06-03T23:54:47","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T23:54:47","slug":"americans-deepening-financial-stress-will-make-the-coronavirus-a-lot-harder-to-contain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/americans-deepening-financial-stress-will-make-the-coronavirus-a-lot-harder-to-contain\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans’ deepening financial stress will make the coronavirus a lot harder to contain"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Salkever<\/a>, University of Maryland, Baltimore County<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Preventing deaths from COVID-19 depends on people who get it seeking treatment<\/a> \u2013 which also allows authorities to track down whom they came in contact with to reduce spread.<\/p>\n

But, as the economic pain<\/a> and joblessness caused by the statewide lockdowns continue to grow, more Americans are experiencing severe strains on their personal finances. This threatens our ability to contain the pandemic because those feeling the most financial stress are much less likely to seek medical care if they experience coronavirus symptoms, according to my analysis of a recent Federal Reserve survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As an economist who studies how individuals make health care choices<\/a>, I worry that in the coming months even more people will consider forgoing vital treatment to pay rent or some other bill \u2013 especially as the extended unemployment benefits, rent moratoriums and other relief are set to expire<\/a> soon.<\/p>\n

\u2018Just getting by\u2019<\/h2>\n

The Fed conducts a survey<\/a> of the economic health of U.S. households every quarter, most recently near the end of 2019. In April, it conducted a supplementary but similar survey to quickly gauge how people were handling the coronavirus crisis. Results of both surveys were released on May 14.<\/p>\n

The Fed tries to measure financial stress in three key ways. Its surveys ask respondents if they are unable to pay all their monthly bills, couldn\u2019t cover a US$400 emergency expense, or are \u201cjust getting by\u201d or worse.<\/p>\n

Even before the pandemic hit, the picture wasn\u2019t pretty. In October, when the fourth-quarter survey was conducted, 42% of employed respondents reported fitting at least one of these descriptions, while over 8% said they fit all three. Those figures jumped to 72% and 20% for low-income workers.<\/p>\n

But by April, tens of millions of people who had jobs in October lost them as most nonessential businesses across the U.S. either closed or reduced their services. The unemployment rate shot up to 14.7%<\/a> that month \u2013 the highest since the Great Depression \u2013 and is expected to climb further when the May data are released on June 5.<\/p>\n

The Fed\u2019s April survey, however, paints an even broader picture of the economic impact of the pandemic. In that survey, about 28% of the previously employed respondents said they either lost their job, were being furloughed, had their hours cut or were taking unpaid leave. This has been financially devastating to many, with 68% of this group reporting one of the stresses listed above and 28% saying they were experiencing all three, regardless of income level.<\/p>\n

Forgoing medical care<\/h2>\n

Separate questions in the surveys demonstrate just how strong the link is between financial and physical health.<\/p>\n

The October survey also asks those respondents if they had skipped a doctor\u2019s visit during the previous 12 months because of the cost. More than 20% of those who reported one of these financial stresses said they had, while almost 46% of those with all three said so.<\/p>\n