Americans skipping on meds hoping to save cash, study finds

A report published this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that adults are using a number of methods to stretch their prescription budgets.

The cost-saving strategies include waiting longer to fill prescriptions, skipping doses to stretch refills, or asking their physician for the lowest cost option, researchers said. And that frugality may be threatening to their health.

“Adults who do not take prescription medication as prescribed have been shown to have poorer health status and increased emergency room use, hospitalizations and cardiovascular events,” said study leader, Robin Cohen in a statement.

In 2011, Americans spent $45 billion out-of-pocket on retail prescription drugs, the CDC said.

Adults considered poor or near poor were twice as likely as adults who were not poor to not take medication as prescribed.

Additionally, a lack of health insurance compelled many to not take their medications. Over 23 percent of uninsured adults were more likely to not take medication than those with some form of insurance. People on Medicaid were 13 percent more likely not to take the medication and those with private insurance were nearly 9 percent more likely to skip.

When it came to asking their doctors for the cheapest possible prescription, age didn’t seem to make a difference.  Adults between the ages of 18-64 were equally likely to request a lower cost medication to save money as those over 65 years old.

But when it came to skipping doses, younger people were twice as likely to skip as compared to those over 65.

The findings came from analyzing data taken from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey.