According to a recently released health care survey, diabetes is the medical condition that dominates spending within the United States. Diabetes alone costs about $101 billion per year. This is a huge cost, especially since diabetes only impacts about 30 million people in the U.S. That’s a large portion of the population–about 10 percent–but it is not the most frequent illness, or the most deadly. However, the growth of diabetes spending outpaces the second most expensive disease by 36 times. And diabetes is far more dangerous in the elderly than in younger people. According to statistics, more than one quarter of senior citizens have diabetes, making this an issue that is central to the health and happiness of the elderly.
In fact, this study revealed that 20 medical conditions accounted for more than half of all health care spending. These included diabetes, of course, but also many other conditions that impact primarily the senior citizen population. Other issues included heart disease, back pain, injuries related to a fall, and hypertension. As you might know, heart disease is the number one cause of death in America, and the older an individual is, the more harmful it can be to their overall health. But even though heart disease is more deadly than diabetes, it is not growing in cost as rapidly as diabetes.
The top five most expensive medical conditions in the U.S. account for about 18 percent of all medical spending. That’s a total of over $430 billion. That includes both out of pocket expenses and insurance coverage. Also, only about 6 percent of all costs went toward well care checkups, and much of this was because of postpartum care. If more attention was given to preventative care, then there is a chance that other diseases could not only be less expensive, but that their impact would be far less upon the health of elderly individuals.
What does all of this information have to do with in-home care and senior care? It is an indicator of what kinds of conditions are most prevalent in the United States, and what kinds of conditions require the most costly care. If you or an older loved one suffer from one of these conditions, you can assume that you will have higher than average health care costs. This is definitely not something that is desirable, but the information can be useful when it is used to help you plan for the future. For example, if you know that your mom suffers from diabetes, you can assume that over the next several years, her care will become more and more expensive. By taking strides to cut unnecessary costs now, save money, or start planning ahead for more efficient care or better insurance policies, the burden associated with this costly disease can hopefully be reduced.
The cost of senior care is already a large burden for many. If there are factors that will make it even more so for you, then knowing about them sooner rather than later will be helpful to you, making great senior care easier to obtain.
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