When the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging asked people 50 and older about 26 health-related issues, their top three areas of concern had to do with costs: of medical care in general, long-term care, and prescription drugs.
More than half of the 3,300 people surveyed in February and March reported being “very concerned” about these issues, according to KFF Health News.
By the numbers: Beyond the top three, people cited the cost of health insurance and Medicare (52 percent), and the cost of dental care (45 percent).
- In an election year, “our poll sends a very clear message that older adults are worried about the cost of health care and will be looking to candidates to discuss what they have done or plan to do to contain those costs,” said John Ayanian, director of the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.
Why it matters: One in ten seniors (about six million people) have incomes below the federal poverty level. About one in four rely exclusively on Social Security payments, which average $1,913 a month per person.
