Rates of forgone medical care because of COVID-19 decreased over time; about 70 percent of forgone care due to physician-driven factors<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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Sungchul Park, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Jim P. Stimpson, Ph.D., from Drexel University in Philadelphia, examined trends in and reasons for forgone medical care among Medicare beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were obtained for 23,058 Medicare beneficiaries.<\/p>\n The researchers found that from the week of June 7, 2020, to the weeks of April 4 to 25, 2021, the rates of reported forgone medical care because of COVID-19 decreased, with the largest difference in rates seen between June 7 and July 12, 2020 (22.4 to 15.9 percent). About 70 percent of forgone medical care was explained by physician-driven factors. There was a trend toward a decrease in the proportion who reported forgoing medical care because of physician-driven factors, from 66.2 percent in the week of July 7, 2020, to 44.7 percent in the weeks of April 4 to 25, 2021. The likelihood of forgone medical care was 4, 3, and 3 percent higher among those who reported feeling more stressed or anxious, more lonely or sad, and less socially connected, respectively, than those who did not.<\/p>\n “Policy makers must continue to identify effective means of meeting the forgone care backlog and maintaining continuity of care, especially for those with mental health problems,” the authors write.<\/p>\n<\/del>THURSDAY, Dec. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Medicare beneficiaries experienced limited care access during the COVID-19 pandemic, although there was a decrease in forgone medical care over time, according to a study published online Dec. 30 in JAMA Health Forum<\/em>.<\/p>\n