In two separate surveys, one of older adults and one of their caregivers, Fair Health looked at whether costs were impeding access to care for older adults and how much older adults know about their health care costs before receiving care. Their survey finds that more than one in four people with Medicare skipped care because of the cost.
A majority of older adults say that they think cost is a key consideration when deciding whether to get care and what care to get. (Only one in four older adults do not think about out-of-pocket costs.) But more than one in three of them (35 percent) struggle to get information on their costs.
The survey also found that nearly one in three older adults do not engage in shared decision-making about their care with their physicians and other healthcare providers. That said, almost one in two older adults (45 percent) would like to engage in shared decision-making conversations with their physicians.
Because many older adults cannot get information upfront on healthcare costs, a sizable portion of them (27 percent) say it often keeps them from getting care. Overall, more than one in four older adults skipped care because of the cost. And just less than one in three older adults with household incomes under $50,000 said they skipped care because of the cost.
People living in households with higher incomes skipped care less often. About one in five older adults in households with incomes over $50,000 and under $100,000 skipped care. About one in six older adults in households with incomes over $100,000 skipped care.
These survey findings suggest that Medicare does a somewhat better job than corporate health insurance at covering costs. A recent survey found that costs were a barrier to care for one in three Americans of all ages.
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