Another reminder of the way the economic crisis is adversely affecting our nation's health. More people appear to be skimping on their prescription drugs because they can't afford them.

In the first eight months of 2008, the number of prescriptions dispensed in the United States was slightly lower than the comparable months of 2007, reversing a decade-long trend, according to a recent analysis of data from IMS Health, a research firm that tracks prescriptions.

Cost may not be the only factor. Headlines about safety concerns of a few drugs, and the over-the-counter availability of some former prescription medications may play a role, according to a New York Times story on the trend. But doctors and other experts say consumer belt-tightening is a big factor in the prescription downturn, as is the higher co-payments that insured consumers face. And these figures reach only through August, before the recent weakening of the economy and the banking crisis.

"People are having to choose between gas, meals and medication," said Dr. James King, the chairman of the American Academy of Family Physicians. A family practitioner in rural Tennessee, Dr. King said he's seen some of his own patients stop taking their medications or skip doses to stretch out a prescription.

"Some consumers are making decisions based on the fact that they are bearing more of the cost of medicines than they have in the past," Diane Conmy of IMS Health told the newspaper.

The average co-payment for drugs on insurers' "preferred" lists rose to $25 in 2007, from $15 in 2000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That doesn't apply to the 46 million uninsured, or to the people who have insurance but no drug coverage (the newspaper said there's no reliable number for the latter category).

The decrease so far is small, just one percent. But it was the first downturn after more than a decade of pretty hefty increases—72 percent over a decade, to 3.8 billion prescriptions in 2007. Some experts believe that Americans overmedicate. But we also know that some of these prescriptions are necessary to keep chronic diseases under control. Economizing on drugs now could mean worse illnesses, and bigger health care bills, in the future. It would make a lot more sense to have health policy and health coverage that prevented problems, not aggravated them.