‘Out of pocket’ health spending
Older people, with multiple chronic health conditions, are under significant financial pressure, a new report has found. The National Seniors Productive Ageing report showed a prevalence of chronic conditions among mature age people who faced onerous out-of-pocket health care costs.
Older people, with multiple chronic health conditions, are under significant financial pressure, a new report has found.
The National Seniors Productive Ageing report, The Health of Senior Australians and the Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Costs They Face, showed a prevalence of chronic conditions among mature age people who faced onerous out-of-pocket health care costs.
The report’s authors, from the Australian National University, found 570,000 people aged 55 years and over spend more than 10% of their income on health and about 250,000 spend more than 20%.
The research showed, on average, older Australians spend $353 per quarter on out-of-pocket health care costs.
Worryingly, those with five or more chronic conditions spend $882 per quarter which is almost six times as much as those with no chronic conditions.
National Seniors chief executive, Michael O’Neill, said many older Australians would face problems paying for medical services because of the growing cost of health care, which is rising faster than inflation.
“It is clear that for sicker older Australians – even with the protection of Medicare – the costs are significant and many are suffering a substantial financial burden,” Mr O’Neill said.
“Concession card holders on average have more chronic conditions than non-card holders but spend a similar amount on health, so whilst they pay less ‘per condition’, it is not enough to lower the financial burden to the level of non-card holders,” he added.
According to Mr O’Neill, as a result, a “sizeable minority” of Australians are under severe financial stress which could lead people to reduce their use of medical services.
The report also highlighted research from the Commonwealth fund which estimated 18% of the Australian adult population had not seen a doctor when they were sick or had not received recommended care due to cost.
A further 12% of Australians had not filled prescriptions or had skipped doses of prescribed medications to save money.
The authors recommended widening the safety net to relieve health-related financial pressures.
The full report is available online at National Seniors.
