profession
45% of uninsured patients skip prescriptions
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 24, 2012
Nearly half of patients without prescription drug insurance coverage skip filling prescriptions due to the out-of-pocket costs, said a Consumer Reports National Research Center poll released in September. The 45% of uninsured patients who did not fill a prescription represents a rise of 29 percentage points from last year, Consumer Reports said.
Eight in 10 uninsured patients said that in the prior year, cost had led them to decline a medical test, delay a physician visit or skip a medical procedure. A nationally representative sample of 1,158 adults was interviewed between May and June. On average, uninsured patients pay $91 each month out of pocket for prescription medications.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/09/24/prbf0924.htm.
