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Health Costs For Minnesota Seniors At Least Double That Of Younger Residents, Study Finds
Minnesota seniors in their 60s and 70s have health costs double and sometimes triple the amount of spending for state residents in their 30s and 40s, according to a study released Friday by the
Minnesota Council of Health Plans, the
Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. For the study, researchers evaluated data from reports filed with the
Minnesota Health Department and claims data from the council's members
. The study found:
- Health care spending last year increased by 44% for Minnesota residents in their 20s and 40s, by 62% for residents in their 40s through 60s and by 101% for those in their 60s and 70s;
- Minnesota residents at age 40 had health costs averaging $4,519 last year, while those in their 70s had average costs of $11,679 and those in their 80s had average health expenditures of more than $14,700;
- Minnesota residents had health costs totaling $10.7 billion last year, a 21% increase from 2003;
- 31% of the state's total health care spending was on physician services, 18% was on inpatient hospital costs and 16% was on prescription drugs;
- The state spent $1.9 billion on 24 million prescriptions, a 15% increase from 2003, but an increased use of generic drugs slowed the rise in costs;
- Emergency department visits increased by 2% among privately insured state residents between 2003 and 2005 and increased by 21% among those enrolled in state health insurance programs; and
- Diagnostic imaging expenses increased by 13% to $188.8 million in 2005.
According to the
Star Tribune, the report suggests that lower-income Minnesota residents do not seek care for various conditions until they became serious problems. The report's findings "offer a benchmark to determine if earlier prevention steps now will translate into less health care spending in later years," the
Star Tribune reports
(Phelps, Minneapolis
Star Tribune, 12/14).
The study is available
online. Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the report.
"Reprinted with permission from
http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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