Earlier this month, Kaiser Health News reported that « more hospitals are receiving penalties than bonuses in the second year of Medicare’s quality incentive program, and the average penalty is steeper than it was last year » (here). Kaiser wasn’t the only troubling news that appeared recently for Americans who are 65 and older and rely on Medicare for their healthcare coverage.  

In a report issued last week, The Commonwealth Fund found that the U.S. ranked poorly compared to 10 other countries on key indicators for those who are 65 and older. It’s an important and valuable comparison for 3 reasons.

1. Seniors (65+) are relatively easy to isolate for comparative studies in all major populations.
2. Seniors (65+) typically represent the highest healthcare needs and spending of a given population.
3. It’s the only category where the U.S. system of Medicare coverage (for everyone 65 and older) can compare directly to other countries with “universal coverage.”

Like The Commonwealth Fund report earlier this year (U.S. Healthcare Ranked Dead Last Compared To 10 Other Countries), this new survey used 11 countries for their comparative analysis. The survey was conducted from March through May of this year and the number of respondents for each country is indicated in parentheses…(see orgiginal post)..

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the fact that older Americans (age 65+) said that cost was the primary reason for skipping medical care or treatment. This was significant because Medicare is often presumed to be free and universal health coverage for every American over the age of 65 [..].

The other big takeaway was the fact that older Americans had the highest prevalence of chronic conditions. The survey found that 87% of older Americans had at least one chronic health condition and 68% reported 2 or more chronic conditions. The next highest was Canada which reported 83% with at least one chronic condition and 56% with 2 or more. Whether this is the result of delayed healthcare or other socioeconomic factors is unknown and was also outside the scope of the survey…. For further reading see original post..!

Source: www.forbes.com