The high costs of Medicare have their impacts on the national deficit, but they are also bankrupting many Medicare beneficiaries, according to a study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Amy Kelley, MD, an assistant professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at New York City's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and other physicians across the country conducted the study, which aimed to look at the total healthcare spending and household assets of more than 3,200 Medicare beneficiaries during the last five years of their lives.
The researchers found that the median out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare beneficiaries was $22,885, and the mean out-of-pocket expenses was $38,688, according to The Fiscal Times.
In addition, one-quarter of Medicare beneficiaries spent everything or more than they have, including their home, on out-of-pocket medical costs in their last year. "Despite Medicare coverage, elderly households face considerable financial risk from out-of-pocket healthcare expenses at the end of life," according to the report.
The out-of-pocket spending levels had wide variation, depending on diseases and marital status. Medicare beneficiaries with high-cost diseases such as Alzheimer's spent more than $66,000, on average, for out-of-pocket medical costs, and single enrollees spent their assets on medical care at a far higher rate than those who had a spouse.
Amy Kelley, MD, an assistant professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at New York City's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and other physicians across the country conducted the study, which aimed to look at the total healthcare spending and household assets of more than 3,200 Medicare beneficiaries during the last five years of their lives.
The researchers found that the median out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare beneficiaries was $22,885, and the mean out-of-pocket expenses was $38,688, according to The Fiscal Times.
In addition, one-quarter of Medicare beneficiaries spent everything or more than they have, including their home, on out-of-pocket medical costs in their last year. "Despite Medicare coverage, elderly households face considerable financial risk from out-of-pocket healthcare expenses at the end of life," according to the report.
The out-of-pocket spending levels had wide variation, depending on diseases and marital status. Medicare beneficiaries with high-cost diseases such as Alzheimer's spent more than $66,000, on average, for out-of-pocket medical costs, and single enrollees spent their assets on medical care at a far higher rate than those who had a spouse.
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