A number of Medicare beneficiaries will continue to experience a heavy financial load from healthcare expenses, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
For the study, researchers examined Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket healthcare spending as a share of Social Security income, and projected the median ratio of total per capita out-of-pocket expenditures to per capita total income.
Here are four findings.
1. All Medicare beneficiaries' average out-of-pocket spending — on things such as insurance premiums, cost sharing for Medicare-covered services, and non-Medicare covered services like dental and long-term care — as a share of average per capita Social Security income was 41 percent in 2013, according to the study. That number is projected to reach 50 percent in 2030.
2. In 2013, 50 percent of traditional Medicare beneficiaries (excluding Medicare Advantage) spent at least 14 percent of their per capita total income on healthcare expenses.
3. That same year, 36 percent of traditional Medicare beneficiaries spent at least 20 percent of their per capita total income on healthcare expenses.
4. The study projects 42 percent of traditional Medicare beneficiaries will spend at least 20 percent of their total income on medical expenses by 2030.
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