Falling behind: The role of student loans on forgoing healthcare

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Economics
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Student loan debt is a significant financial burden for many US adults.
• There is growing concern about the association between student loan debt and adverse health outcomes.
• The impact of falling behind on student loans on healthcare utilization remains under-examined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether borrowers falling behind on student loan payments are deterred from seeking healthcare.
• To examine the relationship between student loan delinquency and forgoing medical care.
• To assess the impact on accessing mental healthcare and specialist services.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2019 Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making (SHED).
• Analyzed responses from 337 participants who were behind or in collections on student loans.
• Employed adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and confidence intervals (CI) to assess associations, controlling for confounding variables.

Main Results:

• Borrowers behind on student loans were significantly more likely to forgo mental healthcare (AOR=1.66, 95% CI=1.18-2.33).
• Respondents in this group were also more likely to forgo seeing a doctor or specialist (AOR=1.53, 95% CI=1.13-2.07).
• These associations persisted after controlling for sociodemographic factors, insurance status, and other financial obligations.

Conclusions:

• Falling behind on student loan payments is associated with a higher likelihood of forgoing essential healthcare services.
• Student loan delinquency may exacerbate health disparities by creating barriers to care.
• Findings highlight the need to address student loan burdens to improve healthcare access and public health outcomes.