2024 election: Health care and insurance affordability top the list of issues for seniors

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows that the affordability of health care tops the list of concerns for American patients—ahead of concerns about the government budget, immigration and gun violence.

Adults over the age of 50 made up more than half of the voters in the 2020 election, making the concerns of this demographic even more important in the upcoming presidential election.

A new study by the University of Michigan’s Center for Health Policy and Innovation, using data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging conducted in February and March 2024, shows the health-related issues that very disturbing for adults.

Health care and insurance costs are among the top concerns

Concerns about the cost of health care and health insurance made up five of the top six items from the list of 26. Respondents said they were most concerned about the cost of home care, assisted living, and nursing home care (56%); medical care costs (56%); price of prescription drugs (54%); financial fraud and fraud (53%); and health insurance and Medicare costs (52%).

“The costs of health care and the need for health care are both very high for the elderly in the US,” says the study’s lead author, Dr. John Ayanian, director of the Center for Health Policy and Innovation.

“We’ve made great strides in helping people manage chronic conditions and reduce the risk of cancer and other major health problems, but the cost of those services has been high,” says Ayanian. outpaced price growth over the past 20 to 30 years. .”

He says that older people feel more pressure to spend on health care as their health problems increase—something that is especially difficult for retirees living in. with a minimum amount set.

“Seniors would like political leaders to try to control all kinds of health care costs,” Ayanian says. Good luck.

Psychological problems of financial fraud

One of the biggest concerns that emerged from the study was one that is not clearly related to health care: financial fraud and fraud. Ayanian and his team found that many older adults have either been victims of financial fraud or know someone who has. The Government Accountability Office estimates that older Americans lose $2.9 billion annually to financial fraud.

The researchers chose to include it in the study because of the high stress that fraud can cause, Ayanian says, and other health problems if victims of financial fraud struggle to seek medical care, to get food, or get shelter as a result. .

Of the top five health-related concerns, more than half of respondents answered that they were “very concerned.” But there were demographic divisions.

Among those top six factors from the survey, more women reported being more concerned than men, and liberals and moderates reported more concerned than conservatives.

Approximately 53.1% of respondents were female, 46.6% were male, and 0.3% were transgender or nonbinary. The vast majority were white (77%), while political ideologies were split between liberal (17.3%), moderate (46.8%), and conservative (35.9%).

Participants with household incomes of less than $60,000 per year made up about 51% of respondents, while those making more than $60,000 made up 49% of the group.

Regardless of family income, health care and insurance costs were an equal concern. Of respondents who earn less than $60,000 a year, 58.4% say they are most concerned about health care and insurance costs, compared to 54.1% of respondents who earn more than that.

The authors conclude that, “In the run-up to senior citizen elections, the president’s representatives and Congress should prioritize publicizing their plans to control health care costs.”

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