Workers skimp on care to save money: Study

The recession is leading some employees to cut back on their use of health care services, research shows.

The National Business Group on Health surveyed more than 1,500 employees working at large companies and found that 27% recently decided against seeking certain health care services to avoid making copayments or paying coinsurance.

In addition, 20% said they skipped taking a prescription medication and 17% said they split a prescription dosage to make the drug last longer.

While those actions could save money for employers and employees in the short run, they could be costly in the long run. Delaying needed medical treatment could result, for example, in a relatively minor problem later mushrooming into a condition that is much more expensive to treat.

On the other hand, employees said they are taking other actions that could improve their health, according to the NBGH survey, which was released last week.

For example, 52% of respondents said they are making a healthier lifestyle more of a priority than a year ago. Similarly, 50% of respondents said they are exercising more than a year ago, while 44% said they ate less often at fast-food restaurants.

That move to healthier lifestyles may be triggered, at least in part, by the recession, said Helen Darling, president of the Washington-based NBGH. When the economy was booming, many employees were focused on material issues, such as buying bigger homes, she said.

Now in tough economic times, employees are more focused on the basics, such as their health. “It is a change in focus,” Ms. Darling said, adding that employees may reduce their future need for health care services by leading healthier lifestyles.

Perhaps because their ability—due to declining incomes or feared job loss—to pay for health care is not as great as a year ago, employees are increasingly aware of how much health care services cost.

For example, 72% of respondents said they have become more aware of the total cost of health care over the past year, and 56% said they are more aware of what they are paying for employment-based coverage. Fifty-eight percent of employees said they were surprised at their out-of-pocket costs.

The survey also found that 58% of employees believe smokers should pay higher health care premiums than nonsmokers, while 46% believe obese employees should pay higher premiums.

Copies of “The Recession's Toll on Employees' Health” are available at www.businessgrouphealth.org.

For reprints of this story, please contact Lauren Melesio at 212-210-0707 or email lmelesio@crain.com