Patients are being more cautious with their money and may defer elective surgery until a time when they can better afford it, according to the article. Conversely, other patients are choosing to have surgery sooner than expected in order to have the procedure before their medical insurance runs out or before they are put on COBRA.
Some of the hospitals interviewed in the story said that delaying surgery may have "serious medical consequences."
The article reported that there are wide variations in the regions where delaying or rushing surgery is occurring, and no clear trends can be seen. The area that has seen the most change is plastic surgery, which, according to the article, is not often covered by insurance.
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