Americans Cut Back on Visits to Doctor

Copayments are up, the economy is down. Is anyone really surprised Americans are going to the doctor less?


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Insured Americans are using fewer medical services, raising questions about whether patients are consuming less health care as they pick up a greater share of the costs.

The drop in usage is showing up as health-care companies report financial results. Insurers, lab-testing companies, hospitals and doctor-billing concerns say that patient visits, drug prescriptions and procedures were down in the second quarter from year-ago levels.

"People just aren't using health-care like they have," said Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint Inc.'s chief financial officer, in an interview Wednesday. "Utilization is lower than we expected, and it's unusual."

Others say that consumers are beginning to forgo elective procedures like knee replacements. "We have a very weak economy and it's just a different environment for the elective parts of health care," said Paul Ginsburg, a health economist who runs the Center for Studying Health System Change and has been analyzing health-company earnings. But "this could go beyond the recession. Being a less aggressive consumer of health care is here to stay."

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703940904575395603432726626.html?mod=e2tw

and what all the details are. They always ask if I've had a change of situation and I tell them no, am just cautious since I don't trust ins companies. The representatives say they understand.

Later I got a bill because I visited a doctor outside the approved list. I eventually got them to drop the bill but they still insisted I had picked the doctor. <shrug> Lesson - even if you call they can still try to screw you over.

THEY are getting for their money.

I know one thing, when my pediatrician decided to charge me 10 bucks a pop for his SIGNATURE on letters required for my kid's school, I was thoroughly pissed off. No one in his office ever offered to pay ME for the time I spent waiting in his outer office because he's overbooked. And that charge was kind of the last straw. Talk about nickel and diming the crap out of your patients.

Quote:
"People just aren't using health-care like they have," said Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint Inc.'s chief financial officer, in an interview Wednesday. "Utilization is lower than we expected, and it's unusual."
end quote.

As the people get poorer, they'll utilize less and less.
With the corresponding social displacement and devastation to health and life expectancy.
Health care for profit . . don't you just love it?

"Haven't seen you in awhile." - Dr.
"Husband was out of work and we only could afford catastrophic insurance." - Me.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Your blood pressures is through the roof. Why didn't you take BP meds?" - Dr.
"Because my asthmatic kids and diabetic husband couldn't go without their meds." - Me.

She just shook her head, but brought me a big pile of samples to take home. And yes, we have real health insurance now (and thank the Lord, because I'm having gallbladder surgery Aug 10 and my back went out and need surgery for that too).

Health insurance should be a right for every human being.

please get generic B.P. meds at Target or WalMart. They are only $4 a month and worth every penny in terms of preventing more serious issues. Meijer offers many antibiotics and prenatal vitamins FREE.

I always make sure to print out the low-cost med lists from the store Web sites and bring them to the doctor's office. Usually, he can find something that works. Even when I did have insurance, the generics at places like Target were cheaper than my co-pays, even if I used the mail order pharmacy.

I wish I could find such deals on my asthma meds. I haven't been taking my Singulair and only one dose of Advair a day because these are so costly and generics aren't available. I know when my asthma is getting worse, so I can change things up if it starts to worsen. And then there's the scam with the rescue inhalers. They revamped them to remove the CFC's so now they have a patent again and are more costly. Yeah, I'm sure it's all the asthmatics and their inhalers destroying the environment. :eyes:

When my mother was alive she used to send whatever she didn't need to us (thanks to medicare) but she's gone now. It wasn't just the meds, but the doctor visits to Solantic because the regular pediatrician was so much.

When they changed the inhalers that really hurt us; one is that they actually hold less medicine and two, there aren't as many generics. I also swear that they are not as effective as the old ones.

Yes.

In other countries it is so considered.

dontcha know.

It's what they wanted all along. In the meantime, the plebeians die and no one cares.

I can't afford the deductibles after I'm done paying the premiums, and that doesn't even include the copays.

Before that, I was used it for two critical issues...but continued treatment require yearly blood tests which aren't covered. So my health is declining.

I haven't used it for "wellness" exams or regular maintenance for about 7 years. The insurance company gets my money every month, though.

is biting the medical community in the butt. All the upgrades in equipment, investments in specialty surgery practices, etc.---and now people are unable to pay for it all.

On the bright side, if you need a procedure and have the ability to afford it, you might find that they are willing to bargain.

I haven't been since last November. I have insurance, just can't afford the co-pay. Lucky for me my doc keeps renewing my prescriptions.

The HMO's figured this out long ago. You can try to get patients to the doctor more often, by having checkups and the like covered at 100%. But people will tend to chose badly and either not follow up, or not bother in the first place. The mere fear of a problem will keep them out of your office, because they won't be able to afford the follow on treatment. People choose badly quite often, and by the time pain starts and they are forced into the doctor, it is now often vastly more expensive to treat.

Take away the fear of financial ruin, and they might just actually show up earlier.

paid my $15 copay and then another $20 or so for a prescription and I was feeling pretty darn good.

Two weeks later I got a bill in the mail for $125.

Turns out my awesome insurance policy at work, that costs me about $250 per month, has a $3,000 deductible.

So unless I get really sick or hurt this year, I will be paying for everything out of pocket.

I'm glad to at least have insurance, but I have to pay $3,000 per year with a $3,000 deductible, so my health expenses per year would have to be over $6,000 for the insurance to benefit me substantially.

(And this is only for me, luckily my daughter is covered under her dad's insurance.)

you may as well have nothing at all.

Most people I know HATE going to a doctor. It's stressfull!

Yesterday morning my partner had stopped by Walgreens and brought home 4 prescriptions for me. Two cost 180 dollars. ($179.85 in fact) One wasn't available in generics and the other was but my doctor had specified the brand name because of quality and dosage consistency. I nearly broke out crying when I saw the prices because I knew I wouldn't be able to afford monthly refills of such expensive medicines.

I thought our Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance policy would cover these because they were medically necessary. I jumped on the phone and called them. I learned our policy had a $1,000 cal year deductible to be met before any Rx coverage kicked in. I learned my partner had been not letting me know how much our $10,000 cal year deductible 70/30 in network policies cost each month: $894.00 a month!! (We're both over 55 years old and I have extreme anxiety over my health issues.

I asked the BC/BS rep about trying to improve the Rx policy but was told that would cost significantly more and would mean undergoing the underwriting process and possibly mean one or or both of us might not be accepted. The HCR act of 2010 says only kids under 19 must be accepted with no exclusions.

So we were once again out of luck. It's a struggle to have to pay $900 each month plus co-pays and no Rx coverage until $1,000 is reached. We stop short of that. So with what we pay in meds and MD co-pays health care insurance costs us $13,000 a year. There's no end in sight and nothing about the so-called HCR Act of 2010 will help us. There isn't anything in it to lower premiums or to stop age discrimination.

My younger sister who has company provided health insurance ( we don't work for companies: age discrimination again) had a heart attack last month.

We can't afford to save any money because health insurance premiums cost us so much. We can't get out of the bottom of the barrel BC/BS EXPENSIVE policies because of age and pre-existing conditions.

for inferior coverage. Some many of us have huge deductibles and co-pays (mine is $2500 deductible and then 80%/20% with $5000 out of pocket total). Suggestions to you would be to see if your doctor has any samples and let your doctor know that you will not be able to afford the non-generic. Tell him your choices are to go without any meds, cut the meds in half or use them half as often as you should, or have the generic. I do not believe that generics are inferior and I often wonder why doctors are not listening to the patient on this. But I bet your doctor would prefer that "inferior" generic over you not taking the premium priced med. Good luck.

One does not get care, one gets McMedicine. Really, diagnosis in 4 minutes without the affected body parts being looked at? It ain't healthcare, it's shuffling people through for payments. If the insurers did not put such ridiculous payment schedules into the mix, doctors might have time to actually practice medicine.

I think it's been 4 or 5 years. Luckily when my BP and thyroid meds are up for renewal the pharmacy calls and she renews them. We've been a couple of times with the kid for the required well baby and child exams and a few times for illness. My husband is the one who uses our medical insurance the most, sometimes for real problems. He always has an ache or a pain someplace that seem to prevent him from employment, although not from playing video games or watching tv, that require a trip to the doctor for a look-see.