Nov. 16--HIGH POINT -- There are hundreds of pages of legislation in the latest health care reform bill passed by the Congress last week, mirroring the hundreds of negative ways that doctors say the health care meltdown has affected healthy living habits in North Carolina.
Just ask Dr. John McSadden.
As a physician at High Point Family Practice, he has seen the number of yearly checkups, mammograms, colonoscopies and other forms of preventative care appointments plummet along with the unemployment rate.
"People are postponing a lot of things they would have normally done, especially those who have lost their jobs, but even those who haven't," he said. "People are taking chances by not following up."
He suspects that many of his patients are dodging their appointments to save money in a tough economy. Some have lost their health insurance and can't afford to visit the doctor's office. Others are trying to trim costs.
"This year, in particular, almost everyone is asking to switch to generic medicines for anything they may be on," he said. "Every day, I sit down with a patient with a copy of the Wal-Mart pharmacy $4 list so they can go from a $10 prescription to a $4 prescription. It's very noticeable that people are really trying to save every dollar that they can."
Dr. Lee Nunn, who owns a dentistry practice in the city, is seeing the effects of the recession in her patient's smiles -- literally.
"As families have lost one or two household incomes, often times dental insurance becomes a luxury they have to cut from their budget," she said. "Sadly, some of our patients are forced to have an infected tooth extracted rather than corrected with a root canal or a crown in hopes they can have it replaced in better times."
Cosmetic and elective surgeries in particular, such as bleaching, veneers and cosmetic bonding, have declined, she said.
But postponing medical needs that matter, including preventative checkups, may end up costing patients more down the road, McSadden said.
"If someone postpones those things and ends up in the hospital, it's going to be way more expensive than a check-up," he said.
phaynes@hpe.com -- 888-3617
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