Workers Delay Medical Treatment
Increasing health care costs are leading some businesses to eliminate health coverage for employees or shift more costs to workers, who sometimes cannot afford increased premiums, according to recent studies, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
As a result, people are delaying medical care and preventive services. However, such delays can lead to more costly health problems at emergency departments and clinics.
According to E. Richard Brown, director of the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research, health reforms need to focus more on controlling costs, rather than care programs. However, Brown said cost controls are more politically controversial because they could involve price oversight of medical procedures and supplies (De Atley et al., Riverside Press-Enterprise, 4/27).