A new survey shows that an estimated 13 million adults were delayed in obtaining or not taking prescription drugs due to cost reasons before the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than a quarter of health insurance beneficiaries and 5.3% of privately insured adults spend more than 1% of their household income on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. Urban Research Institute Estimated annual average of 2018 and 2019 Medicare Expenditure Panel survey data from nearly 30,000 Americans. More than 3% of Medicare beneficiaries—and nearly 7% of beneficiaries whose prescription drug needs are not met—use more than 10% of their household income on prescription drugs.

Medication compliance continued to decline, and Increase in cost sharing During this period PandemicResearchers say this may lead to more hospitalizations.

Catherine Hempstead, senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said: “Most of the deaths in the United States are preventable, and most of them stem from uncontrolled chronic diseases.” A lot of healthcare fails. It will shorten people’s lives and lead to higher treatment costs in the future.”

Taking prescription drugs is essential to improve health outcomes.but Increasing out-of-pocket expenses Continue to weaken compliance.

According to a research brief by the Urban Research Institute, approximately 10% of uninsured adults report that their prescription drug needs are not met, compared with 4.9% for medical insurance beneficiaries, 3% for privately insured adults, and 5.6% for non-elderly medical assistance.

Women, low-income people, and people with multiple chronic diseases are the most likely to give up medication.

“This shows us again that while healthcare can be difficult, it can be even harder for communities of color and low-income people. When you think of cost sharing as a percentage of income, it starts to become very important,” Said Dr. Harry Greenspun, chief medical officer of the consulting company Guidehouse. “Unless we begin to address health equity issues at the system level, we will continue to encounter such problems.”

Out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs can be fatal Research show. A recent analysis of more than 358,000 relatively healthy 65-year-old health insurance beneficiaries found that an increase in out-of-pocket costs per prescription of $10.40 is associated with a 22.6% decrease in consumption and a 32.7% increase in monthly mortality.