High-need adults — those with three or more chronic diseases and functional limitations inhibiting self-care or daily tasks — are seated with some of the highest medical costs.
An analysis from The Commonwealth Fund using 2009 to 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data found Americans seated with the highest medical costs, like high-need adults, are often the ones least able to pay.
Here are 10 things to know about America's high-cost, high-need population.
1. One in 20 adults, or about 12 million Americans, is defined as high-need.
2. On average, per person spending on healthcare services and prescriptions was $21,000 for high-need adults. This was more than four times higher than all U.S. adults.
3. Annual out-of-pocket costs for high-need adults were $1,669 on average, compared to $702 for the rest of the U.S. population.
4. Median household income for high-need adults ($25,668) was less than half of the U.S. adult population's median income of $52,685.
5. More than 50 percent of high-need adults were age 65 and older. Of this population, most were age 75 and older. Comparatively, less than a fifth of the U.S. adult population were age 65 and older.
6. About two-thirds of high-need adults were women. Researchers said this may reflect a general trend of women living longer than men and the fact that high-need adults are older.
7. Nearly 75 percent of high-need adults were white, a larger share than in the collective U.S. adult population.
8. Only 4 percent of America's high-need adults were uninsured, as more than four of five high-need adults had public insurance like Medicare or Medicaid.
9. On average, high-need patients visited a physician 9.6 times per year, which is about three times as often as the overall population.
10. High-need adults were more likely to incur and maintain high costs toward treatment over two consecutive years. One in six high-need adults were in the top 5 percent of spending two years in a row.
More articles about payer issues:
Aetna's credit prospects improve following ACA pullback
NY's low-cost health plan may drive up premiums
Tennessee commissioner: State exchange on verge of collapse