US Seniors Face Greater Affordability Challenges

A new study from the Commonwealth Fund reveals that older Americans face greater healthcare affordability challenges than seniors in other wealthy nations, despite near-universal Medicare coverage. Researchers surveyed seniors in 10 countries, finding that nearly 1 in 4 U.S. respondents reported over $2,000 in out-of-pocket healthcare costs last year—far higher than seniors in France or the Netherlands. Only Swiss seniors reported higher expenses.

American seniors were also the most likely to delay or skip care due to cost, with about 10% of seniors across all countries surveyed reporting similar struggles. Additionally, 1 in 5 seniors in the U.S., Canada, or Australia avoided dental care due to expenses, compared to fewer than 5% in Germany or the Netherlands.

Munira Z. Gunja, senior researcher at the Commonwealth Fund, suggested U.S. policymakers could learn from other nations by capping out-of-pocket costs and fully covering essential medical services to strengthen Medicare and reduce financial barriers for older Americans.