About 95% of Medicare beneficiaries are concerned about the impact of inflation on health care costs, with 45% saying costs have already increased because of inflation, the most recent polls Discovered by eHealth.
eHealth, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a private online health insurance marketplace. The survey collected online responses from 2,519 participants throughout July. Respondents were Medicare beneficiaries who purchased a Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, or Medicare Part D plan from eHealth. Nine in 10 participants lived on regular income, the report said.
Of those who said they were concerned about the impact of inflation on health care costs, 49% said they were “very concerned,” 34% said they were “somewhat concerned,” 12% said they were “somewhat concerned,” and 4% said they weren’t concerned at all.
The areas of greatest concern for Medicare beneficiaries are increased prescription costs and Part B Medicare premiums, both at 65%. After that, 60 percent were concerned about higher copays and deductibles, and 57 percent were concerned about higher premiums with other forms of health insurance, the report found.
About half or 49% of Medicare beneficiaries are vulnerable to premium increases of 10% or less. The survey found that 30% of respondents already cannot afford their health insurance premiums, while 14% said an increase of 5% or less would make them unaffordable. Another 15% said an increase of 5% to 10% would make their premiums unaffordable.
For drug costs, 52% said they could not afford the 10% increase, and 26% said they could no longer afford prescriptions. Another 16% said an increase of 5% or less would make their medicines unaffordable, while 16% said a 5% to 10% increase would make them unaffordable.
The majority of respondents also said they want the government to step in on these drug costs, with 86% saying Medicare should negotiate directly with drug companies to reduce costs. Another 88% said their concerns about rising healthcare costs would be lessened if the government acted.
The government may do so.
Currently, a bill The Senate is considering reducing the federal deficit by $288 billion over 10 years and reducing out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Kaiser Family Foundation. It will also limit drug price increases for Medicare and private insurance.
“Older adults with fixed incomes are particularly vulnerable to the impact of inflation on health care costs,” eHealth CEO Fran Soistman said in a statement. Press Releases“Our survey shows that the consequences of inflation are immediate, with seniors worried about their ability to cover their monthly premiums and other health care costs.”
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