Healthcare Usage Drops Due to Costs, Economic Woes

(MoneyWatch)  Medical care doesn't sound like one of those things consumers would skimp on when times get tough. Yet signs are mounting that patients are in fact delaying or skipping on treatment as a result of higher costs and concerns over the economic downturn against the backdrop of the financial crisis.

The data, in many respects, are still somewhat on the soft side. A recent analyst report by Cain Brothers (via FierceHealthFinance) cites a survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners that found 22 percent of respondents were going to the doctor less often because of the economy, while 11 percent have reduced their use of prescription drugs. IMS Health data confirms that drug prescriptions fell during the first half of 2008.

The cutbacks, such as they are, may also be affecting people with health insurance, especially since more folks these days face higher copayments, coinsurance or just high deductibles. Preventive and non-emergency care are especially affected: Knee replacements were down 19 percent in March compared to a year earlier. Mammograms and ER visits are also apparently on the decline, as are mental healthcare services.

Delaying preventive care, of course, may simply lead to bigger patient problems down the road. Theoretically, at least, that's good news for doctors and hospitals, since chronic or acute conditions are typically more expensive to treat. Of course, it's not exactly a positive sign for troubled health-insurance companies or for government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid that may end up taking in the slack.

In fact, this trend looks a lot like a natural consequence of the whole consumer-directed healthcare movement, which puts a premium on treating medical care as a commodity like any other. Oddly enough, much consumer spending falls off during recessions. Now, healthcare spending appears ready to follow suit.