37 percent say they.ve had financial trouble in the past 5 years due to medical bills.

Americans rank the cost of healthcare as their third biggest economic problem, following the price of gas and concerns about jobs, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

The poll, which had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, studied a nationally representative random sample of 2,003 adults who were interviewed by telephone between April 3 and 13.

“Problems paying for healthcare and health insurance” as a result of recent economic changes was cited by 28 percent, the Kaiser poll found. Forty-four percent of those surveyed said that paying for gas was their top economic problem, and 29 percent cited getting a good-paying job or a raise in pay.

Respondents said they had less concern with paying their rent or mortgage (19 percent), dealing with credit-card or other personal debt (18 percent), paying for food (18 percent), or losing money in the stock market (16 percent).

The cost of healthcare has affected other areas of families’ budgets, as 37 percent of those polled said that medical bills caused at least one of six financial troubles over the past five years:

            • having difficulties paying other bills (20 percent);

            • being contacted by a collections agency (20 percent);

            • using up all or most of their savings (17 percent);

            • being unable to pay for basic necessities such as food, heat or housing (12 percent);

            • borrowing money (10 percent);

            • declaring bankruptcy (3 percent).

“Many people view health and the economy as separate issues, but the cost of healthcare is a significant pocketbook issue for many families, and paying for healthcare has become a key dimension of the public’s economic concerns,” Kaiser President and CEO Drew E. Altman said.

Many respondents said that high costs caused them to delay or put off needed care. Forty-two percent of respondents to the poll said that in the past year, they or a family member living in their household had at least one of five consequences due to healthcare expenses:  

            • put off or postponed getting needed care (29 percent);

            • skipped a recommended medical test or treatment (24 percent);

            • not filled a prescription (23 percent);

            • cut pills in half or skipped doses of medicine (19 percent);

            • had problems getting mental healthcare (8 percent).

Health benefits are a factor when people make decisions about other important areas of life, including jobs and marriage, the poll found:

            • 23 percent of respondents say that within the past year, they or a member of their household has either taken a new job or stuck with their current job (instead of taking a new one) primarily because of better health benefits.