Americans ignoring healthcare

Market Watch -Between a third and a half of people age 45 to 59 and a quarter of those 60+ went without needed health care in the past year due to its cost, according to a troubling new survey from the West Health Institute and NORC at the University of Chicago.

Specifically, the survey found these results for people age 45 to 59 (members of Generation X and boomers) as a result of health care costs:

• 49% didn’t go to the doctor last year when they were sick or injured
• 45% skipped a recommended medical test or treatment
• 43% didn’t go to a dentist when they needed treatment
• 40% went without a routine physical or other preventive health care
• 30% didn’t fill a prescription or took less than the prescribed dose of medicine

The percentages were less dramatic for people 60 + (boomers aged 60 to 72 and Americans older than 72) — perhaps partly because those 65 and older have Medicare. But they are still concerning:

• 30% didn’t go to a dentist last year when they needed treatment
• 27% went without a routine physical or other preventive health care
• 25% didn’t fill a prescription or took less than the prescribed dose of medicine
• 25% skipped a recommended medical test or treatment
• 24% didn’t go to the doctor when they were sick or injured

Younger Americans were even more likely to go without health care due to costs last year, the survey found.