Consumers Cut Health Spending As Economic Downturn Takes Toll

[babylonsister]

Consumers Cut Health Spending As Economic Downturn Takes Toll
By VANESSA FUHRMANS


As the credit crunch threatens to throw the economy into a deep slump, Americans are already cutting back on health care, a sector once thought to be invulnerable to recession. Spending on everything from doctors' appointments to preventive tests to prescription drugs is under pressure.

The number of prescriptions filled in the U.S. fell 0.5% in the first quarter and a steeper 1.97% in the second, compared with the same periods in 2007 -- the first negative quarters in at least a decade, according to data from market researcher IMS Health. Despite an aging and growing U.S. population, the number of physician office visits also has been declining since the end of 2006. Between July 2007 and 2008, the most recent month for which data are available, visits fell 1.2%, according to IMS.

In a survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners last month, 22% of 686 consumers said that economy-related woes were causing them to go to the doctor less often. About 11% said they've scaled back on prescription drugs to save money. Some of the areas being hit include hip and knee replacements, mammograms, and visits to the emergency room, according to a survey conducted by D2Hawkeye Inc., a Waltham, Mass., medical data analytics firm, on behalf of The Wall Street Journal.



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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122204987056661845.html

[Joanne98]

1. They're murdering us!

[raccoon]

2. As fewer people have insurance and as insurance

covers less, there will be more and more of this.

rec'd

[codjh9]

3. Absolutely! I'm one of them - I've put off numerous health-related things because

although I now have insurance again, I have a huge deductible, which means that pretty much any doctor visits, tests, etc. will come out of my pocket.

[raccoon]

4. Same here. nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. Congresscritters feel your pain, what with their government tax payer funded health care and all.

:silly: Good enough for them but not for us and adding insult to injury, they make us pay for their health care plan. x(