Study: Young adults use more healthcare

A new study by health insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has found that at least in their territory, healthcare visits amount young adults aged 20 to 30 are going up markedly. To conduct the study, BCBS looked at internal claims data dating from 2001 through 2005, covering 150,000 of its members in that age group.

What they found was that the volume of medical visits for this age group grew meaningfully over the five year span. The most dramatic increase was for behavioral health, with such visits climbing 157 percent from 2001 to 2005. (Behavioral health visits for all BCBS members climbed only 55.9 percent during the same period.) Visits for back and neck pain climbed 69 percent, and 113.6 percent for breast cancer. Physician visits hit 6.5 per year in 2005, up 9 percent from 2001.

To find out more about the study:
- read this Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal article