Older Americans are more likely to struggle with affordability of healthcare compared to those living in other wealthy nations, despite almost all being enrolled in Medicare coverage, a new study shows.
Researchers at the Commonwealth Fund surveyed seniors in 10 countries—Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.— about their financial decisions relating to healthcare. They also compared people enrolled in traditional Medicare to those in Medicare Advantage.
The survey found that out-of-pocket spending in the U.S. is high. Close to 1 in 4 of those surveyed said they had at least $2,000 in out-of-pocket costs for healthcare last year. By comparison, less than 5% of those living in France or the Netherlands said the same.
People living in Switzerland were the only group that reported higher out-of-pocket spending than Americans, according to the report.
American seniors also had the highest rate of delaying or forgoing care due to the cost, the study found. Across all of the countries in the study, only about 10% reported skipping or pushing back services because they were not affordable.
A third of the older American adults who experienced cost-related barriers to medical care said they were in fair or poor health, according to the report.
The study also found that 1 in 5 seniors living in the U.S., Canada or Australia skipped dental care due to the cost, while fewer than 5% of those living in Germany or the Netherlands skipped key dental services.
Munira Z. Gunja, senior researcher for international health policy and practice innovations at the Commonwealth Fund, said in the press release that the findings suggest regulators could look to other nations when considering policy changes to Medicare.
"Even though nearly all older adults in the United States are covered by Medicare, this study highlights areas where the program has room to improve. In some countries, almost no older adults are skipping or delaying care because of the cost," Gunja said. "The U.S. can look abroad for innovative solutions to protect this age group from high health care costs, such as capping out-of-pocket expenses and fully covering hospital and physician services."
"Medicare was created to ensure older Americans can get the care they need and afford to stay healthy, and it’s critical that we uphold that promise to them," Gunja said.