The Doctor Will See You Now

The Doctor Will See You Now Americans are avoiding the doctor’s office

n a normal year, 8 out of 10 Americans visit a doctor, and most do so at least twice. Among people aged 65 or older, the majority visit a doctor four or five times a year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. This year might be different.

Americans are skipping doctor visits because they are afraid. Forty-two percent of Americans say they are very concerned about going to a doctor because of coronavirus, according to a Gallup survey fielded in April. Another 41 percent are moderately concerned. Young adults are just as afraid as older adults, college graduates are as fearful as the less educated, and rural folk as much as city residents.

Perhaps this fear explains a stunning finding: 41 percent of Americans have delayed getting medical care in the past four weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey fielded in the middle of May. It is probably no coincidence that this figure is almost identical to the 42 percent who expressed great concern about potentially exposing themselves to coronavirus at a doctor’s office, as reported by Gallup. Just as Gallup found few demographic differences in the fear factor, so too the Census Bureau finds surprisingly little

variation by state in the percentage of Americans avoiding medical care. In New York, hardest hit by the virus, 44 percent had delayed getting medical care in the past four weeks, in Texas 38 percent, in California 41 percent, in Montana 46 percent.

Because they are afraid, parents are keeping their children away from the doctor’s office even for well-child visits. The number of vaccine doses given to children fell sharply in April, the New York Times reports. The pediatric electronic health records company PCC reports a 50 percent decline in measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine doses.

All this delayed medical care has created a problem for healthcare businesses. In the middle of a pandemic, the healthcare industry is reeling because so many Americans are afraid to go to the doctor. Sixty-three percent of healthcare businesses report that COVID-19 has had a large negative effect on them, according to the Census Bureau’s Small Business Pulse Survey. In mid-May, 69 percent of healthcare businesses reported a decline in their operating revenues in the past week, and 26 percent had to cut staff. Will things improve in the future? Many aren’t so sure. Only about one in four healthcare businesses think operations will return to normal within three months.

There’s another wrench being thrown in the works. Health insurance. In the US today, health insurance determines doctor visits. Among people under age 65, fully 46 percent of those without health insurance did not go to a doctor in the past 12 months versus only 17 percent of those with insurance. As people lose their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of Americans without health insurance could climb by as much as 34 percent, according to projections by the Urban Institute. The economic pain inflicted on the healthcare industry by the coronavirus pandemic may be felt for years to come.