“How Much Do Medicare Beneficiaries Spend Out of Pocket on Health Care?,” by Juliette Cubanski  Wyatt Koma, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, KFF Issue Brief

 

 

Quote:

“The oldest beneficiaries in traditional Medicare, people ages 85 and older, spent more than twice as much out of pocket as beneficiaries between the ages of 65 and 74 ($10,307 versus $5,021). This difference was primarily due to significantly higher spending on long-term care facility services among beneficiaries in the oldest age group. … In 2016, people with traditional Medicare spent an average of $5,460 out of pocket for health care expenses, including premiums, cost sharing, and costs for services not covered by Medicare. Half of all traditional Medicare beneficiaries spent at least 12% of their total per capita income on health care. Although Medicare has helped make health care more affordable for people with Medicare, many beneficiaries face high out-of-pocket costs for care they receive, including costs for services that are not covered by Medicare—in particular, long-term care services. Some groups of beneficiaries face substantially higher out-of-pocket costs than others, including women, those ages 85 and over, those who are in poorer self-reported health and who have multiple chronic conditions, and those with no supplemental coverage.”

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):

As always, long-term care costs are the kicker.