Out of pocket charges for health care during the last five years of life costs 25 percent of Medicare recipients all that they have, including their homes, according to a new study from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Researchers at the school found that another 43 percent spent more than their total assets, after subtracting the value of their homes.
“Medicare provides a significant amount of health care coverage to people over 65, but it does not cover co-payments, deductibles, homecare services, or non-rehabilitative nursing home care,” said the study’s lead author, Amy S. Kelley, M.D., assistant professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in a press release. “I think a lot of people will be surprised by how high these out-of-pocket costs are in the last years of life.”
On average, people with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease paid the most, $66,155, about twice what those with cancer or gastrointestinal illnesses spent, $31,069. As dementia progresses, people become unable to live independently, and need more specialized, round-the-clock care than an ordinary assisted living facility or a relative can provide.
“It raises a couple of concerns for me as a doctor, a taxpayer, and an adult child of older parents,” said Dr. Kelley in a phone interview. “I think people should plan their savings” to prepare for potentially high health care costs. “As taxpayers we need to consider that old people already have a lot of expenses,” she said.
