Millions of Americans can’t afford doctor visits during pandemic: study

Millions of Americans are risking their lives in a desperate bid to save money.

A new study of more than 3,700 US adults has revealed that 18% of them — or a staggering 46 million when applied to the total population of adults — avoided seeing a doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic due to unemployment and the rising cost of health care. Torn between caring for their physical and financial health, about the same number of people reported that they simply cannot afford medical attention they actually need, according to the poll by West Health research institute and Gallup.