Are we next to scale back health care?
HEALTHCARE NEWS
More U.S. Residents Forgoing Care
The Washington Post on Thursday examined how "the global economic crunch is forcing a growing number of Americans to scale back on medical care." The number of people who have gone without a prescription, used retirement savings to pay for health services or skipped a doctor's appointment for themselves or a child has increased since last year, according to a study released this summer by the Rockefeller Foundation and Time Magazine.
The study found that 25% of 2,000 respondents said in 2008 they skipped a doctor's visit because of cost, up from 18% in 2007, and 10% said they decided to forgo a visit to the doctor for their child for the same reason. In addition, IMS Health this summer recorded the first decline in U.S. prescription drug spending after double-digit increases for almost a decade.
Another survey by the Center for Studying Health System Change found that almost 20% of U.S. residents say they have trouble paying medical bills. According to the Post, "Layoffs, shrinking bank accounts, rising medical prices and widespread anxiety that the economy is likely to worsen" are leading people to "split pills, forgo screening tests, ... delay elective procedures ... and turn to home remedies as cheaper alternatives."
Source: American Health Line [10/16/08]
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