High medical costs force many Australians to skip treatment
05-Aug-16, News Medical
New research shows one in four chronically ill Australians is skipping healthcare because of high costs.
Dr Emily Callander, Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics at James Cook University said the situation was significantly worse in Australia than in Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.
%20ABC%20North%20Queensland_Nathalie%20Fernbach.jpg "High medical costs force many Australians to skip treatment (c) ABC North Queensland Nathalie Fernbach")
Image: ABC North Queensland / Nathalie Fernbach
"It's particularly worrying because these are people with chronic illnesses, not just people with a sniffle," she said, adding that people with mental health conditions were particularly affected. "Over 40% of people with depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions stated that they skipped healthcare treatment because of the cost."
The study also found that more than one-third of people with asthma, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could not afford the treatment they needed.