Five of the top six health issues among older adults have to do with healthcare costs, according to new data. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News
Older voters are keenly interested in the cost of healthcare, a new survey has found.
Five of the top six health issues among older adults have to do with healthcare costs, according to new data from the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging. Advertisement
“There have been efforts in recent years to reduce costs of some types of care for older adults, especially those enrolled in Medicare, but these findings suggest a strong interest in more action, across the political spectrum and various demographic groups,” said lead researcher Dr. John Ayanian, director of the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.
At least 50% of older adults say they are “very concerned” about the cost of medical care, prescription drugs, long-term care and health insurance, results show.
About 45% of seniors are also very concerned about dental care costs, researchers found.
Seniors are also concerned about being the victim of a financial scam or fraud, results show.
These concerns over healthcare vary between different groups of seniors, researchers said.
For example, 67% of liberals said they were very concerned about the cost of medical care for older adults, compared with 56% of moderates and 51% of conservatives. Advertisement
The same trend held true for concerns over prescription costs, with 64% of liberals concerned, compared with 54% of moderates and 51% of conservatives.
Higher percentages of women than men were concerned about medical and prescription costs — 59% versus 54% for medical costs and 58% versus 51% for prescription costs.
And those in their 50s and early 60s were more likely to say they’re concerned about healthcare costs for older adults than those older than 65, 60% versus 53%.
Rural residents were also more concerned than city dwellers about healthcare costs, 62% versus 56%, results showed.
Other top concerns involving healthcare included access to quality nursing home or assisted living care; inaccurate or misleading health information; and access to affordable healthy foods.
The poll was conducted in February and March 2024 and involved more than 2,500 adults aged 50 and older, researchers said.
The study was published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
KFF has more about healthcare costs in America.
