Americans' confidence in their ability to obtain and afford healthcare rose for the second consecutive month in September, according to a consumer sentiment index produced by Thomson Reuters.
While the first half of the year had shown a downward trend, with the Consumer Healthcare Sentiment Index declining 5 percent from December to July, consumers in September expressed increased confidence that they could access and pay for healthcare in the next three months. In addition, fewer people reported that they had postponed or cancelled treatment in the past three months.
"It's too early to call this a trend, but two months of increased confidence may auger growing optimism as we approach the end of the year," said Gary Pickens, chief research officer at the Thomson Reuters Center for Healthcare Analytics. "The next several months will show whether this optimism has legs."
The Consumer Healthcare Sentiment Index is based upon Thomson Reuters' PULSE Healthcare Survey and is updated monthly.
The Thomson Reuters PULSE Healthcare Survey collects information about healthcare behaviors, attitudes and use from more than 100,000 U.S. households annually. It's based on responses from a survey subset of 3,000 respondents each month. Its baseline measurement of 100 was set in December 2009.