Almost 80 million people skipped seeking medical service due to cost concerns. The figure equals 43 percent of American working age adults who skipped on a trip to the doctor’s office in order to save money. The figures are up from 75 million from two years ago.
Uninsured or underinsured people were the most likely to skip receive medical care due to cost concerns, but a surprising number of insured working-age adults skipped medical treatment even with proper insurance.
Almost 30 percent of adults did not seek out a doctor when they had a medical problem. About a quarter of adults skipped out on a test, a follow-up visit or did not fill a prescription to save money. And about 20 percent of adults avoided seeing a specialist.
Another troubling figure is that adults with a chronic condition such as asthma, heart disease or diabetes did not fill prescriptions or skipped doses to save money.
For wound care practitioners these trends are especially troubling. A small scrape or cut can quickly fester into a serious medical condition in a short amount of time. Saving money by skipping medical treatments creates a dangerous situation for patients, which may lead to more expensive medical bills in the future or possibly, a life threatening medical condition.
