Younger Australians more likely to go into debt to pay for medical bills

Over 15.5% of Austalians polled have medical debts for themselves or a loved one.

Less than two in 10 (15.5%) of Australians revealed that they have gone into debt to pay for medical bills of their own or their loved ones, a report by Compare the Market showed.

Analysing this trend, this sentiment is most likely to come from younger generations.

When comparing by market, Canadians had an average debt of US$6,022, whilst Australians borrowed a much smaller amount at US$2,082 on average.

Compare the Market’s Head of Health Insurance, Lana Hambilton, said health insurance extras can help cover costs linked to these services, as well as a number of others.

“A health insurance extras policy can cover a huge range of different services and treatments outside of the hospital that you may need on a regular basis,” Hambilton said, “or it can just cover a few, depending on what policy you choose and what your individual needs are.”

Compare the Market commissioned PureProfile to poll 1,006 Australian, 1,004 Canadian, and 1,004 American adults in January 2023.

“Survey respondents responded to questions in their local currency, which was converted into USD and AUD on 24/02/23,” read the report.