Adults under 65 years of age were twice as likely to skip taking medication as prescribed in an effort to save money, according to data from the National Health Interview Survey, released last week by the CDC.

Uninsured adults were more likely than those with Medicaid or those with private coverage to not have taken medication as prescribed to save money. Failing to follow prescribed treatment plans can have broad, negative implications for patients, according to the CDC.

“Adults who do not take prescription medication as prescribed have been shown to have poorer health status and increased emergency room use, hospitalizations and cardiovascular events,” said the team led by Robin Cohen of the NCHS’s Division of Health Interview Statistics.

The study did find that adults aged 65 and over generally were less likely to reduce their prescription drug costs. Among adults aged 65 and over, those with only Medicare coverage were more likely to ask their doctor for a lower-cost medication to save money compared with those who had private coverage and those with Medicare and Medicaid coverage.