Seniors’ Anxiety Over Healthcare Costs

77% of seniors, defined as those 65 and older, reported being concerned that rising healthcare costs will result in significant and lasting damage to the economy. This forward-looking pessimism is pervasive, with 92% of the older population expecting that healthcare costs will increase (73%) or stay about the same (19%).

But angst is not isolated to economic perspectives. The research also included qualitative interviews with healthcare experts and members of the Gallup Panel that illustrated the personal impact of healthcare costs. One of these interviews uncovered complexity as a serious obstacle in the current system. A healthcare expert at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation shared:

“[Last] Thanksgiving, I helped a person who said, ‘I’m going to drop my Medicare drug plan.’ Well, that’s a bad move because if he ever takes a lot of drugs, he’d pay a lifetime penalty. He decided to keep it. And I was like, ‘OK, let’s take a look then.’ I saved him an additional $750. Just by looking. There ought to be a way for people to get decent […]