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Marrying to Access Spouse's Healthcare

Posted on: Tuesday, 29 April 2008, 21:00 CDT

A U.S. survey indicates that 7 percent of those asked say that in the past year, they or someone in their home married to get access to healthcare benefits.

The poll, by Kaiser Family Foundation, also finds that health benefits play a key role in people's decisions to switch jobs or stay in their current job. Twenty-three percent say that, within the past year, they or a member of their household have either taken a new job or stuck with their current job primarily because of health benefits.

The survey indicates the cost of healthcare is causing a significant number of Americans to delay or go without medical care -- 29 percent say they put off or postponed getting needed care; 24 percent say they skipped a recommended medical test or treatment; 23 percent say they didn't fill a prescription; 19 percent say they cut pills in half or skipped doses of medicine; and 8 percent report problems getting mental healthcare.

The telephone poll of 2,003 U.S. adults, designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation, has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Source: United Press International

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