About a quarter of American families are visiting physicians less frequently and have less access to name brand drugs due to limitations from health insurance plans, according to a Radius Global Market survey.
Radius GMR conducted the survey in August among U.S. adults between the ages of 24 and 26 who have at least joint responsibility for household decision-making.
One-third of respondents named the rising cost of healthcare as one of their primary concerns. Nearly half of U.S. adults experienced increased healthcare costs over the past year, and more than half expect more increases in the next six months. More than half of respondents who experienced increased healthcare costs attributed the rise to higher premiums, according to the study.
As a result of increased costs, fewer people are going to physicians for care, and 24 percent of respondents indicated that it is getting more difficult to make an appointment with a physician. Instead, many are likely to self-medicate with alternative treatments like herbs and over-the-counter medicines.
According to survey results, one-third of current prescriptions are not covered by healthcare insurance, and prescriptions are more likely to be switched to generics if they are available. Overall, about 25 percent of prescriptions were recently switched to generic and one-third of chronic condition prescriptions were switched to generic within the last six months.