Baby Boomers, Generation X face healthcare hurdles

A quarter of Americans say they have had difficulty paying for healthcare in the past 12 months, with Baby Boomers and Generation X leading the way, according to a study by Thomson Reuters.

The study, which tracks the impact of the recession on consumers' healthcare behaviors, also found that Generation X and Baby Boomers are 3.5 times more likely to postpone care due to the cost than older Americans.

"It is important for healthcare providers, employers and policy makers to consider how the economy and healthcare policies affect demographic segments differently," said Gary Pickens, chief research officer for the Healthcare and Science business of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Thomson Reuters and lead author of the study. "Clearly, the age groups that represent the largest slice of the employer-sponsored insurance landscape – Baby Boomers and Generation X – are most susceptible to the ebbs and flows of the economy."

Key findings of the study include:

• The percentage of households that reported losing a job in the last three months increased to 13.5 percent in April, up from 11.4 percent in March. Unemployment is the single strongest driver of payment difficulty among healthcare consumers, the study found.
• Age impacts deferral of healthcare more than any other demographic factor, including household income, employment and primary insurance.
• When asked about their expectations for the next three months, 20 percent of consumers said they expect to have difficulty paying for health insurance or healthcare services. Baby Boomers are 4.5 times more likely than the so-called "Silent Generation" (those born before 1946) to say they expect to have difficulty paying for care in the next three months.
• Older Americans, who have the access to Medicare, are less affected by the economic downturn when it comes to healthcare behavior.

For the study, the Millennial Generation was defined as being born after 1984, Generation X was born between 1965 and 1984, the Baby Boom Generation was born between 1946 and 1964, and the Silent Generation was born before 1946.

The analysis is based on a telephone survey of 3,007 households conducted April 21 to May 3 – a segment of the Thomson Reuters PULSE Healthcare Survey. Responses covering a three-year period were then analyzed to chart long-term trends in consumer healthcare use among different demographic groups.

The study is part of a series of research papers assessing the impact of the current recession on the healthcare system. Future reports will track hospital financial performance, healthcare outcomes and additional consumer trends.