Americans lacked confidence in their ability to access and pay for health care, according to a monthly analysis that showed consumer pessimism hit a new low in May.

In April, the monthly survey showed that people were more optimistic, probably in the wake of passage of comprehensive federal health reform legislation, passed in late March by Congress and President Obama.

The monthly Consumer Healthcare Sentiment Index found that confidence decreased three points from 99 in April to 96 in May, a statistically significant drop, according to a statement from researchers, who base the data on the Thomson Reuters PULSE Healthcare Survey,

In May, respondents expressed across the board pessimism in their ability to access and pay for healthcare services in the next three months — resulting in the prospective consumer healthcare outlook dipping from 99 to 96. Retrospective consumer responses indicated significant increases in postponement or delay of care, delay in or failure to fill a prescription and difficulty paying for healthcare over the last three months.

“The month-to-month fluctuations we’ve seen in the Consumer Healthcare Sentiment Index are consistent with other economy-wide consumer confidence indexes – continued high levels of unemployment and uncertainty around the impacts of healthcare reform are likely driving this volatility,” said Gary Pickens, chief research officer at Thomson Reuters. “According to the Thomson Reuters PULSE Healthcare Survey, 50 percent of respondents expect healthcare reform to increase healthcare costs. That concern is showing up in our consumer sentiment data.”