Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE IMPLEMENTATION IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Digital Health
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Unwell in America
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Patient Care
December 14, 2021 12:00 AM

Many more people avoiding care due to cost this year, survey shows

Alex Kacik
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Copy of transparencyhospital costs_0001_i_i_i_i.jpg

    A growing share of U.S. adults has delayed healthcare this year because they couldn't afford it, a trend that is driving up treatment costs and worsening patient health.

    Thirty percent of Americans skipped care this summer due to cost, up from 18% earlier this year, according to a West Health and Gallup survey. About 1 in 5 said they or a member of their family saw their health deteriorate over the past year as a result. The firms polled 6,663 people in September and October.

    Low-income families and people of color have been disproportionately burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting unyielding health equity issues. High healthcare costs hit those who can least afford it the hardest. About 2 in 5 Medicaid beneficiaries and those without insurance have seen their health conditions—typically chronic—worsen over the past year after forgoing care.

    The financial impact is now expanding to households that make at least $120,000 a year, 20% of which have reported delaying care due to cost over the three months prior to the survey.

    As healthcare becomes less affordable and families reach increasing levels of desperation, the velocity of change in the survey results this year has been eye-opening, said Tim Lash, chief strategy officer for West Health.

    "Delaying care can be deadly," Lash said. "But save for significant reform both on the drug side and on the provider-payer side, we're going to see the number of bodies stack up."

    A 66-year-old survey respondent reported that his sister died of cancer in July. Her insurance didn't approve a recommended scan and she couldn't afford it as a result.

    This anonymous respondent is one of 12.7 million Americans—translating to about 5% of the population—who have lost a loved one over the past year because they couldn't afford care. Black adults are twice as likely to know someone who died compared to their white counterparts.

    "For the richest country in the world to suffer those levels of mortality as a direct function of an inability to pay—if that is not a wakeup call, I don't know what is," said Dan Witters, a senior researcher for Gallup. "When people have to put $60 of gas in their tanks or spend more on groceries, it really exacerbates the worsening healthcare cost crisis in the U.S."

    More than 40% of adults are worried they will be unable to pay for needed healthcare services over the next year, according to the survey. That trend is manifesting in inpatient and outpatient settings as well as pharmacies, where more prescriptions aren't being filled.

    Download Modern Healthcare’s app to stay informed when industry news breaks.

    Fewer patients are coming into Providence's St. Joseph Hospital Orange with stomach issues. But when they do, they're are sicker than before the pandemic, said Glenn Raup, executive director of behavioral health, emergency and observational health at the not-for-profit Catholic hospital in Orange, California.

    "Fewer endoscopies and colonoscopies are being performed," Raup said. "As a result of that, when they do finally present to the ED, they are significantly worse."

    Emergency department utilization has dropped significantly over the course of the pandemic, which is not necessarily a bad thing, experts said. The healthcare system is rife with wasteful spending, and patients using emergency departments for non-life-threatening issues is one cause.

    Some providers may feel pressure to increase utilization to recoup lost revenues, which could explain some of the rising cost burden. But avoiding necessary care, particularly for those with chronic conditions, poses a major threat, observers said.

    "Many people have developed new chronic conditions," said Lash. That prolongs the cycle of disproportionate healthcare cost exposure, he said. "The healthcare system isn't well-equipped and can take sometimes months or years to address the social and physical issues associated with those types of conditions. Our path out of the pandemic may be more clear, but the path out of healthcare's financial toxicity is not."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Empty hospital beds
    Health systems struggle to fill beds amid care delivery shifts
    Atrium-Best Buy partnership
    Best Buy Health leans into at-home care through large provider deals
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Digital Health
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Unwell in America
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing