More consumers are cutting back on health care, according to a survey from Consumers Union.

CU is the organization that helps Americans seek the best buys in cars, computers, and home theatres. They’re also growinug their opinion base in the health care market, oping on everything from “Best Buy Drugs” to health plan quality.

Now, CU is the latest organization coming out in favor of a health care overhaul. In a poll conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, CU concludes that, “Americans are paying more for less health care.”

Here are a few of their findings that deonstrate a declining value-for-money proposition for Americans and their health care:

  • Putting off a doctor’s visit (28 percent)
  • Inability to pay for medical bills or medications (25 percent)
  • Putting off a medical procedure (22 percent)
  • Declining a medical test (20 percent)
  • Not filling a prescription (20 percent)
  • Using expired medications (15 percent)
  • Skipping a scheduled dose (15 percent)
  • Splitting pills (13 percent)
  • Sharing a prescription with someone else (9 percent).


Health Populi’s Hot Points: CU has launched its first ad in its history that supports health reform. It makes sense: this is the organization that helps people manage family budgets. Health care in the U.S. has become a major line item in that budget.

CU’s survey found that 51% of Americans, 1 in 2 health citizens, faced “tough health choices” in the past year due to the cost of care. The organization rightly says, “the high cost of health care impacts all of us.” The 1 in 2 Americans facing tough health choices will continue to grow without systemic health reform for covering the uninsured and stemming health cost inflation.