Amid the threat of coronavirus, nearly half (48 percent) of Americans say someone in their family has skipped or delayed getting some type of medical care due to the pandemic, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Health Tracking Poll finds. This includes 11 percent who said the person’s condition worsened due to the missed care.

The findings come as many states move to relax some restrictions on businesses, including health care providers, aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, which has already caused about 100,000 deaths nationwide.

Among those who say they or a family member skipped care, most say they expect to get the care within the next three months (68 percent of the group, or 32 percent of all adults). Few say they do not expect to get the care for at least a year or at all.

“Most of those who have put off care due to coronavirus expect to get it soon,” KFF president and CEO Drew Altman said. “If they do, health care utilization may bounce back more quickly than the rest of the economy.”

Most adults (86 percent) say their physical health has stayed about the same since the outbreak began, but the crisis continues to take a toll on people’s mental health. Four in 10 adults (39 percent) this month said worry and stress related to coronavirus has had a negative impact on their mental health. This includes one in eight (12 percent) who say it has had a “major” negative impact, a slight dip from six weeks ago (19 percent).

With unemployment rising and employer coverage at risk, nearly one in four (23 percent) adults who are not currently covered by Medicaid also said they or a family member likely will turn to the program in the next year. This includes about three in 10 (31 percent) of those who have lost a job or income recently due to coronavirus.

Click here to read the full findings from the Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

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