Compared to seniors in 10 other industrialized countries, seniors in the United States are sicker and much more likely to struggle with healthcare costs and access, according to a recent report from The Commonwealth Fund.
The Commonwealth Fund surveyed more than 15,000 adults age 65 or older in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States to unveil how well older adults are cared for in each health system.
Highlighted below are some of the findings from the study:
1. The rate of chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, was highest among seniors in the U.S., with 87 percent reporting at least one chronic illness and 68 percent reporting two or more.
2. Despite Medicare coverage, approximately one-fifth (19 percent) of elderly U.S. adults said cost was the reason they skipped visits to the physician, medical tests or physician-recommended treatments, filling a prescription or taking prescribed doses of medicine.
3. The U.S. reported the highest rate (11 percent) of seniors who were likely to report struggling to pay their medical bills. Only 1 percent in Norway and Sweden reported having trouble with paying their medical bills.
4. Canadian, Swedish, Norwegian and U.S. respondents were the least likely to be able to get a same- or next-day appointment with a physician when sick. Seniors in these nations also were the least likely to find it "somewhat" or "very easy" to get after-hours care without going to an emergency department.
5. In the U.S., 35 percent of seniors reported experiencing at least one problem with care coordination, including not having a recommended medical test, receiving conflicting information from different physicians or experiencing a breakdown in communication between a primary care physician and a specialist. In every country but France, at least one-fifth of older adults have experienced at least one of these problems.
6. The U.K. and the U.S. did well in managing chronic illness. For instance, 58 percent of chronically ill older adults in the U.S. and 59 percent in the U.K. had discussed their treatment goals with their physician and had clear instructions about when to seek further care. Fewer than half of those in the other countries reported the same.
7. More than three-quarters (78 percent) of seniors in the U.S. said they reported talking to someone — be it a family member, friend, or health professional — about their care preferences should they become unable to make decisions for themselves. Two-thirds said they had a written plan naming a healthcare proxy and more than half (55 percent) reported having a written plan regarding their end-of-life treatment preferences.