A survey of more than 1,400 Coloradans has found widespread concerns with health care affordability, with the majority of respondents reporting having delayed or gone without care because of the associated costs in the past 12 months.

“Overall, 90% of respondents with an annual household income between $50,000 and $75,000 reported worrying about affording some aspect of coverage or care in the past year,” the authors of the report said. “However, 80% of those earning over $100,000 per year also reported concerns.”

The authors found consistent concerns across income, education, race and ethnicity.

The survey, which was last conducted in Colorado in 2019, included a range of topics that included affordability, prescription drug costs and hospital prices, among others.

“This survey is critical to understanding how consumers are experiencing health care even as more protections have been enacted,” said Priya Telang, a spokesperson for Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization. The group said it works to ensure Coloradans have equitable access to quality, affordable health care.

“Across party lines, across the state, and across income levels, people are struggling to afford their basic health care needs, or worse, aren’t even getting care because they’re afraid of the subsequent massive bills. Our policymakers must continue to advocate for consumers, even in the face of special interests,” Telang said.

Among the findings:

• Nearly seven in 10 respondents said they had, over the past year, experienced at least one health care affordability event.

• Roughly eight in 10 said they worry about affording care in the future, including the cost of nursing home care and insurance (66%), prescription drug prices (51%) and vision (46%) and hearing (43%) services, among others.

• Low-income and disabled Coloradans were more likely to forego care because of costs and medical debt.

Of those who said they had experienced health care affordability issues, 44% of uninsured respondents cited the cost as the primary reason for not having health coverage.

The majority, or 68% of all respondents, reported delaying or foregoing health care over the past 12 months because of costs.

Additionally, survey respondents cited a number of barriers to care that included being unable to get time off of work, transportation issues and a lack of childcare. Nearly one in five said were unable to get an appointment.

Respondents said they strongly support government solutions, regardless of their political affiliation.

Among those who received care, more than a third said they struggled to pay their health care bill and faced maxed out credit cards, depleted savings and calls from collection agencies or went without food, heat and housing.

While families across the state expressed deep-seeded worries, those in the Denver metro area appeared to have been hardest hit, with 72% reporting they had gone without care because of the cost compared to those in Eastern (66%) or Western Colorado (61%).

Take Giovanna Burno, who takes 24 prescription drugs a month.

The Denver County resident said she has rationed pills, unable to afford the $8,000 bill.

“I’m lucky enough to have insurance most of the time but even then pill rationing is something I’m faced with,” Burno said in a statement, blaming “Big Pharma” for the predicament. “Big pharma shouldn’t be able to charge so much for prescriptions needed to maintain a standard lifestyle.”

The survey was conducted by Healthcare Value Hub from March 26 to April 12 with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropic organization focused on health care access.