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Health & Well-Being » Health Insurance

Why It's Important

As aging Boomers turn 65, they will also become dependent on Medicare in unprecedented numbers.

See Data By: Richmond MSA | Virginia | National

How Richmond Is Doing

Content coming.

How Virginia Is Doing

70 percent of Baby Boomers have health insurance that is at least partially paid for by their employer (ODP RESIDENT, 2009)
Nearly one in ten Baby Boomers have no private health insurance (ODP RESIDENT, 2009)
One in seven Boomers shoulder the burden of paying for 100 percent of their health insurance (ODP RESIDENT, 2009)

Seven in 10 boomers have health insurance that is at least partially paid for by their employer, Richmond MSA

How the U.S. Is Doing

According to the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics, AgingStats.gov site, overall, health care costs have risen dramatically for older Americans. In addition, between 1992 and 2004, the percentage of health care costs going to prescription drugs almost doubled from 8 percent to 15 percent, with prescription drugs accounting for a large percentage of out-of-pocket health care spending. To help ease the burden of prescription drug costs, Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage began in January 2006.

After adjustment for inflation, health care costs increased significantly among older Americans from $8,644 in 1992 to $13,052 in 2004. (See “Indicator 30: Health Care Expenditures.”)

Avg. Annual Health Care Costs for Medicare Enrolees

In 2004, as in the four previous years, over one-half of out-of-pocket health care spending (excluding health insurance premiums) by community dwelling people age 65 and over was used to purchase prescription drugs (from 54 percent in 2000 to 61 percent in 2004). (See “Indicator 33: Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditures.”)

Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditures

Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditures Notes

The number of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part D prescription drug plans increased from 18.2 million in June 2006 to 19.7 million in September 2007. In September 2007, two-thirds of enrollees were in stand-alone plans and one-third were in Medicare Advantage plans. In addition, approximately 6.5 million beneficiaries were covered by the Retiree Drug Subsidy in both years (See “Indicator 31: Prescription Drugs.”)

Prescription

(AGINGSTATS.GOV, HEALTH CARE COST INDICATIORS, 2009)

According to the AOA, A Profile of Older Americans: 2008 with regard to health insurance coverage of persons 65+ in 2007:

Almost all (93%) non-institutionalized persons 65+ were covered by Medicare.
Medicare covers mostly acute care services and requires beneficiaries to pay part of the cost, leaving about half of health spending to be covered by other sources.
About 58 percent had some type of private health insurance.
Over 7 percent had military-based health insurance and 9 percent of the non-institutionalized elderly were covered by Medicaid.
Only 1 percent did not have coverage of some kind.
About 89 percent of non-institutionalized Medicare beneficiaries in 2006 had some type of supplementary coverage.
Among Medicare beneficiaries residing in nursing homes, about half (52%) were covered by Medicaid.

(AOA, PROFILE OF OLDER AMERICANS, 2008)

Health