Age Distribution of US Health Care Expenditures

Quote of the Day

The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy.

- John Galsworthy

Figure 1: Health Care Expenditure Percentage By Age Group.

I have been wondering why US health care costs are so high. I just read this report that claims that the US spends a far greater percentage of its health care dollars on the elderly than other countries. Increasing medical costs are common for the elderly because as we get older, we can develop various age-related illnesses. It's totally natural. When we get to a certain age, these illnesses can take over our lives. We might need to look for help from a Lynchburg home care agency or even try and find a more permanent place of residence that can provide assistance. Care homes are a popular choice for many of the elderly as they receive around-the-clock care and are able to enjoy the social elements that come with living with others in a similar situation to them. Many of us also choose to take out life insurance policies to cover the cost of any medical bills that may need to be paid after we pass. Life insurance policies and payments can vary, and you can click here to discover quotes if you need life insurance for yourself. But I always wondered if healthcare for the elderly is essential, why is it so expensive? I decided to plot the data from the report myself to make viewing the data a bit easier -- see Figure 1. The expenditures are normalized to the costs for people in the 50 to 64 year old age range (arbitrarily given a value of 1 unit). Here is what the chart tells me:

• For citizens less than 65 years old, the distribution of US health care spending is not markedly different from other countries.
• The US, Canada, and UK seem to be doing something distinctly different for their elderly than the other nations in the study, with a comparison between the Kew Gardens Aged Care and other care clinics able to be drawn.
• The US expense distribution is markedly different than all other countries for people 65 year old and older.

For those who think that the problem is the percentage of old people in the US, remember that Japan has the oldest population in the world, yet their health care expense distribution is much flatter than that of the US. In actual fact, the US has favorable demographics compared to other nations in the study, whether that be for people who would need to access pharmacy services (such as these: https://southwestcare.org/services/support-services/pharmacy-services/) or other resources! Whilst there is no doubt we have some great services in this country when it comes to medical needs, it is interesting to see it through comparisons to other nations.

Save