More news about patients foregoing care due to the national economic malaise. USA Today has a heart-wrenching article yesterday citing many anecdotes of patients opting to delay needed therapy. The headline is from a Gallup poll commissioned by the disease management company Healthways showing that surveys of over 350,000 Americans over the last year show that 21% are “scramble[ing] to pay for medical [and]drug bills.” The survey also showed that 1/3 of people skipped all dental care last year.
This is further evidence that managing health care costs is not important just as a matter of national economic. Managing health care costs is also critical to maintaining and improving the quality of health care.