Stop us if you've heard this one before: Unemployment remains high, food and fuel prices are going up and healthcare providers are seeing a trend in patients delaying care.
Yes, with gas prices topping $4 a gallon, the New York Times reports that the economic recovery has yet to make enough of an impact on patients' wallets to send them back to their doctors for routine blood tests, colonoscopies, mammograms and other elective procedures. Health insurers, meanwhile, are "barreling into a third year of record profits."
Even patients who have insurance are increasingly budget-conscious when it comes to their health, often because their end of the bargain has increased in recent years as insurers have increased rates and employers have tightened their belts. For example, the Times cites a statistic from the Kaiser Family Foundation showing that about 10% of people with employer health coverage had a deductible of at least $2,000 in 2010, a significant increase from the 5% of covered workers with deductibles that high in 2008.
"I am noticing my patients with insurance are more interested in costs," Tennessee family practice physician Jim King, MD, tells the Times. "Gas prices are going up, food prices are going up. They are deciding to put some of their health care off."
Even a California nurse with a history of skin cancer admitted to the newspaper that he delayed going to the dermatologist because of his $4,000 deductible. "I underestimated how much that cost would affect my behavior," he said.
Despite their record profits, insurance companies are still raising their rates in expectation of ever-rising costs and the flood of newly insured patients that will hit the rolls in 2014, when the Affordable Care Act fully takes effect. After that, insurance companies will be prohibited from turning away patients with pre-existing conditions.
Is your facility still feeling the effects of the recession, or are you in recovery mode? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
Irene Tsikitas
