As the cost-of-living-crisis continues, US patients are worrying about their wallets over their health. Photo: Shutterstock/Gajus.

US Healthcare providers (HCPs) fear that inflation is driving patients to postpone or stop treatment, according to a new survey. The GlobalData report, Inflation in Medical Devices, asked healthcare providers across Japan, the US and the five largest Western European economies how inflation in the sector was impacting care programmes in H2 2023.

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Responses were generally negative, with over 40% of respondents reporting that patients were postponing treatment due to rising costs in all countries except Japan. In the United States, 71% of HCPs reported either slight or significant postponements, with 68% expecting the issue to take 2 or more years to resolve.

Over 90% thought that out-of-pocket costs had become a more important factor for patients in deciding on treatment plans throughout 2023. These figures are higher than those found in Europe and Japan, likely due to America’s unique healthcare system in which individuals are required to take out private insurance plans to get access to treatment. This means that they may be saddled with unexpected costs if their insurer decides not to cover their treatment.

The report notes that the nation’s economy is “doing better than expected,” with slowing inflation and stable interest rates, but also warns that “the full impact of the monetary tightening may not yet have been felt.”

Among the other countries surveyed, Japan was the most confident, with only 35% of HCPs believing that rising healthcare costs are causing patients to delay or stop treatment. Western Europe ranged between 40% and 65%.

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In its key findings, the report reckons that the backlog created by this postponement will take years to clear, and warns that the cost-of-living-crisis “may lead to cutting less essential health procedures, such as routine and dental. Postponing operations can lead to deteriorating health. Additionally, with HCP shortages worldwide, it may result in more backlogs and higher treatment costs for healthcare systems.”