by Laura Conaway

At the nudging of economist Simon Johnson, I went looking today for economic indicators in America's hospital emergency rooms. Johnson had been told by a couple of doctors that ER visits had dropped off in September — not what you'd expect to see in hard times.

And, according to the notes I'm getting, not what you're seeing. The American College of Emergency Room Physicians was kind enough to ask the doctors on its mailing list what they're seeing out there. The answer is lots of visits, and lots of heartache. A doctor in Los Angeles writes:

 

I need to remain anonymous- thanks for making it possible for me to tell these stories.

More patients then ever before have told me they can't afford to fill their Rx and have asked me to write for something less expensive.

I had 42 year old patient who was not able to purchase COBRA or "bridging insurance" while he was changing jobs. He had 60 days before his new insurance would take effect at his new job. It cost over $700 per month to purchase the COBRA insurance and as sole support for 3 children and his wife, he was not able to afford to make these payments due to the housing crisis. During the 60 days before his new insurance became active he came to my ED with abdominal pain — he was not able to find a physician to see him without insurance. He was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and his life expectancy is not long. In addition to loosing their father/husband, his family will be left with huge medical bills.

We have seen an increase in patients without insurance- who come to the ED as they can't get in to see a physician. They tell me that that they have to choose between paying the bills or health insurance.

More here, from the NYT: In Sour Economy, Some Scale Back on Medications.