Bill of health; Taking it easy

Bill of health

Everyone puts off visits to the doctor and dentist at one point or another; but how often do people forego a check-up, treatment, or decide not to fill a prescription just because it costs too much? Far too often, it turns out, and not only for those on below-average incomes.

There are several other reasons, such as a lack of healthcare providers, distance to the nearest health centre and excessive waiting times. But high cost is the most prevalent reason among adults with low socioeconomic status–whether as a result of income, lack of insurance coverage, or even racial or ethnic factors. Nearly 10 times more people on below-average incomes in the US report unmet healthcare needs compared with the Netherlands, and all because of cost (see chart). In the US, having health insurance is often the determinant factor: adults with below-average incomes who have health insurance report significantly fewer cost-related problems in accessing healthcare than do their uninsured counterparts. Nearly 100 million Americans have either no or insufficient health cover, according to recent reports, whereas in the Netherlands, social security and medical insurance coverage is effectively universal. Healthcare gap

Persons reporting an unmet care need(a) due to costs in seven OECD countries, by income group, 2007

(a) Did not get medical care, missed medical test, treatment or follow-up, or did not fill prescription or missed doses. Source: “Measuring disparities in health status and in access and use of health care in OECD countries”, Michael de Looper and Gaetan Lafortune, OECD Health Working Paper No. 43, 2009, available at www.oecd.org/health

Taking it easy

Where there’s money, there’s also time for relaxing. According to time-use surveys, Norwegians, who have the highest net national incomes among the OECD countries studied, spend more than 2,300 hours a year in leisure activities, which could include anything from watching television to white-water rafting. On the other extreme, Mexicans, whose average annual income is about US$ 10,000, report spending 1,000 hours a year less in relaxing pursuits than their Norwegian counterparts, which is the lowest in the chart.

While those with higher incomes have come to expect–and demand–more time for leisure, the amount of time spent relaxing is also determined by national character. For example, Belgians and Germans earn only slightly more than their Japanese counterparts, but spend nearly 50% more time at leisure. Curiously, the French, who are known for their joie de vivre, are firmly in the average when it comes to time spent on leisure activities–although Society at a Glance does find that French people spend slightly more time sleeping, eating and drinking than any other OECD country.

What may be somewhat surprising is that in nearly every country surveyed, people spend more time watching television or listening to the radio at home than they do entertaining friends, attending cultural events or playing sports. As the global economic crisis hits incomes, relaxing at home might become even more popular than before.

Society at a Glance 2009: OECD Social Indicators, available at www.oecd.org/bookshop ISBN 978-92-64-04938-3

Leisure time is money

Broad leisure time is positively correlated with per capita net national income, 2006 or latest available year

Source: OECD

See StatLink for more details http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/548783364748