Save money - 20% of the elderly do not see a doctor

Save money - 20% of the elderly do not see a doctor (Alberta Times) The Employee Benefit Research Institute released the latest research on the 28th, showing that about 20% of Americans over the age of 50...

(Alberta Times)

The Employee Benefit Research Institute released the latest research on the 28th, showing that in order to save money, about 20% of Americans over the age of 50 take cheaper prescription drugs, do not take the medicines they should take, or do not seek medical treatment at all. The findings suggest that high health care premiums are forcing some Americans to hesitate between spending money and maintaining their health. The Employee Benefit Research Institute analyzed a 2009 survey of 4,433 Americans over the age of 50 to find out how many were skipping doctor's appointments and taking medications because of financial burdens. As a result, 19% said they skipped seeing a doctor or postponed doctor's appointments to save money. 21.5% said they changed their prescription drugs to save money, with many choosing cheaper generic drugs or free trial drugs. About a quarter of people who changed their prescriptions said they had stopped taking them one or more times. About a quarter of people said that in order to extend the time they took the medicine, they broke the pill into smaller pieces or reduced the dose each time they took the medicine. Stopping medication or not seeing a doctor once in a while may not have much impact on a healthy person. But researchers found that the people most likely to stop taking their medications or see a doctor tended to be those in poor health, followed by single women and African Americans.