Comparison of catastrophic out-of-pocket medical expenditure among older adults in the United States and South Korea: what affects the apparent difference?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Medical spending rises sharply with age. Even with universal health insurance, older adults may be at risk of catastrophic out-of-pocket medical spending. We aimed to compare catastrophic out-of-pocket medical spending among adults ages 65 and older in the United States, where seniors have near-universal coverage through Medicare, versus South Korea, where all residents have national health insurance.

Methods

We used the 2016 Health and Retirement Study and the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. The study population were adults ages 65 and over in the US (n = 9,909) and South Korea (n = 4,450; N = 14,359). The primary outcome of interest was older adults' exposure to catastrophic out-of-pocket medical expenditure, defined as out-of-pocket medical spending over th

SUBMITTER: Kim N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9511719 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature