The high costs of health care in the current uncertain economic environment are leading more consumers to delay medical care. That’s according to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions’ 2011 Survey of Health Care Consumers, which included 15,000 health care consumers from 12 countries.
Among American respondents, 25% said they have skipped seeing a doctor when they were sick or injured. Among that 25%, 49% said they skipped going to a doctor because of costs. That’s compared with 39% in Belgium, 35% in China, 34% in Mexico, 5% in Canada, and 7% in the United Kingdom and Luxembourg.
An additional 63% of Americans said their monthly health care costs make it harder for them to fund their housing, groceries, fuel, and education. Executive director Paul H. Keckley, Ph.D., said this year’s results indicate a global concern.
"Regardless of the type of health care system – government-run or private – consumers around the world are feeling the pinch," Dr. Keckley said in a statement.
While Americans might be skipping doctor’s visits, it’s not because they don’t need care. In times of economic downturn and high unemployment, the need for psychiatric care is highest, according to Dr. Lee H. Beecher, a psychiatrist who practices in St. Louis Park, Minn. He added that high premiums rates for private insurance plans and low reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid payments are decreasing patient access to care.
Without a fix to the reimbursement systems and higher pay for outpatient services, Dr. Beecher said, more psychiatrists will be forced to work within a hospital system or the public sector. This, he said, will mean a more assembly-line approach to care, and less time to dedicate to patients.
"You might be able to see a psychiatrist every 3 to 6 months ... you don’t have a doctor-patient relationship with the psychiatrist as a patient in these public programs," Dr. Beecher said in an interview.
As of January 2013, physicians will face a 30% cut in reimbursement rates under Medicare. In addition, the bill to raise the national debt ceiling included a committee tasked with assessing additional cuts down the line. Unless Congress takes action, physicians face an additional 2% cut by January 2014 and possible further cuts by the committee.
Deloitte has been measuring consumer trends in the health care system since 2008.