title: Out-of-pocket payments and use of care for serious and minor symptoms. Results of a national survey.
abstract: To assess the effect of out-of-pocket payments on use of care for symptoms that physicians consider serious and meriting care, and for minor symptoms, we evaluated data from a 1986 national survey. Among 5412 adults reporting one or more medical visits in the last year, 18.8% had experienced serious symptoms within the previous 30 days, among whom 63.0% sought care, while 31.3% had experienced minor symptoms, among whom 42.8% sought care. Subjects who had paid $15 or less out of pocket for their last medical visit were more likely to seek care for a serious symptom (67.1% vs 52.6%) or for a minor symptom (47.1% vs 32.2%) than were those who paid $30 or more. Large out-of-pocket payments are associated with significant reductions in use of care for both serious and minor symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles 90024-1685.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hayward
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sudman
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Corey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003669:Deductibles and Coinsurance; D006296:Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States