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Correlates of Worry About Health Care Costs Among Older Adults

Correlates of Worry About Health Care Costs Among Older Adults Although older adults in the United States incur more health care expenses than younger adults, little research has been done on their worry about health care costs. Using data from the 2013 National Health Interview Survey (n = 7,253 for those 65+ years), we examined factors associated with older adults’ health care cost worries, defined as at least a moderate level of worry, about ability to pay for normal health care and/or for health care due to a serious illness or accident. Bivariate analyses were used to compare worriers and nonworriers. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of income, health status, health care service use, and insurance type with worry status. Older age and having Medicaid and Veterans Affairs (VA)/military health benefits were associated with lower odds of worry, while low income, chronic pain, functional limitations, psychological distress, and emergency department visits were associated with higher odds. Practice and policy implications for the findings are discussed. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Applied Gerontology SAGE

Correlates of Worry About Health Care Costs Among Older Adults

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References (45)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2016
ISSN
0733-4648
eISSN
1552-4523
DOI
10.1177/0733464816650803
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Although older adults in the United States incur more health care expenses than younger adults, little research has been done on their worry about health care costs. Using data from the 2013 National Health Interview Survey (n = 7,253 for those 65+ years), we examined factors associated with older adults’ health care cost worries, defined as at least a moderate level of worry, about ability to pay for normal health care and/or for health care due to a serious illness or accident. Bivariate analyses were used to compare worriers and nonworriers. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of income, health status, health care service use, and insurance type with worry status. Older age and having Medicaid and Veterans Affairs (VA)/military health benefits were associated with lower odds of worry, while low income, chronic pain, functional limitations, psychological distress, and emergency department visits were associated with higher odds. Practice and policy implications for the findings are discussed.

Journal

Journal of Applied GerontologySAGE

Published: Jun 1, 2018

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