Older adults are avoiding the emergency department due to concerns about service costs, a recent study found.
Researchers from the Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan surveyed 2,074 U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 in June 2020 regarding their emergency department usage in the two years preceding.
Key findings from the study:
- Eighty percent of respondents were concerned about costs of an emergency department visit.
- Eighteen percent were not confident they could afford an emergency department visit.
- Twenty-two percent of those who may have needed emergency department care in the past two years avoided care.
- Predictors of cost-related emergency department avoidance included poor to fair mental health, an age between 50 and 54, no insurance and an annual household income under $30,000.