Health care expenditures for the elderly with chronic conditions in 2011

This presentation compares summary statistics on health care expenditures and expenditure distributions by type of health care service and source of payment for the elderly (age 65 and over) with no, one or more than one chronic condition in 2011.  Estimates are derived from data collected in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household (MEPS-HC) and Medical Provider Components (MEPS-MPC) on the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population.  Health care expenses in MEPS represent payments to health care providers for services reported by respondents.  Chronic conditions are defined as the presence of cancer, diabetes, degenerative nervous system conditions, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease including asthma, liver disease, renal disease, and dementia.  Two-thirds of the elderly were reported as having one or more chronic condition.  Those with more than one chronic condition reported were the most likely to have an inpatient stay compared to elderly individuals with one or no chronic condition, 25.5%, 16.5%, and 7.5%, respectively.  Average total annual expenditures for individuals with more than one chronic condition were $15,898, compared to $8,874 for those with one chronic condition and $4,303 with no chronic condition.  However, those with no chronic condition paid a greater proportion of their total expenditures out-of-pocket (18.9%) as compared to those with one chronic condition (13.1%) or more than one chronic condition (9.9%).  Medicare paid a greater percentage of the total payment for individuals with one or more than one chronic condition (62.0% and 65.3%, respectively) compared to those with no chronic condition (53.1%).