Survey: 75% of Consumers Do Not Understand How Healthcare System Works

A recent survey found 75 percent of consumers' do not have a firm understanding of how the healthcare system works, according to the survey from Deloitte.

The survey included the following key findings for American consumers:

• Three in four say the recent economic downturn has influenced their healthcare spending — 41 percent are being more cautious about it, 20 percent have cut back and 13 percent have reduced it considerably.
• Of the 25 percent of consumers who skipped a visit to their physician when sick or injured, 49 percent did so due to costs.
• Consumers blame redundant paperwork (55 percent), individuals not taking responsibility for their own health (49 percent), defensive medicine (46 percent), lack of adherence to evidence-based approaches (40 percent), and extreme measures taken at the end of life to extend life for a short period of time (35 percent) as the top causes for wasteful spending.

Read the rest of the Deloitte survey findings on consumer confidence and healthcare.

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