More than one in ten patients between the ages of 18 and 64 delayed or went without healthcare in 2021 due to concerns about being exposed to COVD-19, according to new data from the Urban Institute’s April 2021 Health Reform Monitoring Survey.
In addition, almost one-in-ten parents delayed or did not get care for their children for the same reason.
“Missing vital health appointments, especially preventive care and other specialty services, can adversely affect health and other daily activities for both children and adults,” according to the report's authors.
Researchers observed that in the spring of 2021, COVID-19 case rates began to decline. However, many nonelderly adults were not vaccinated yet and many of them continued to avoid healthcare settings such as doctor's offices and hospitals out of fear of being exposed.
The rates of unmet healthcare needs were especially high among adults with chronic health conditions.
Among the findings:
- Hispanic/Latinx and Black adults delayed or did not get care at higher rates than white adults (16.2% and 13.3% versus 8.7%).
- Adults with incomes below 250% of the federal poverty level were more likely than those with higher incomes to avoid care (14.9% versus 8.2%).
- Adults with multiple chronic health conditions were more likely than adults with no conditions to report unmet care needs (16.7% versus 7.6%).
What did parents with children under 19 years of age do?
- 9.2% of parents reported they had delayed or forgone at least one type of care for their children in the past 30 days over worries about exposure to COVID-19, and 5.5% reported that their children had missed out on multiple types of care for this reason.
- Parents with family incomes below 250% of the federal poverty level were more likely than those with higher incomes to report delaying or forgoing care for their children (12.3% versus 6.5%).
Authors of the survey urged government, physicians, and insurers to educate people on how important it is to get the care especially those with chronic health conditions.
The survey was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Additional information is available here.