More than one-quarter have little or no confidence they can afford health insurance over the next year
THURSDAY, Jan. 3, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Many adults aged 50 to 64 years are concerned about being unable to afford the cost of health insurance, according to the results of the National Poll on Healthy Aging published on Jan. 3.
Preeti Malani, M.D., and colleagues from the National Poll on Healthy Aging Team, administered a survey to a randomly selected stratified group of 1,028 older adults, aged 50 to 64 years, to examine their current and future plans for health insurance coverage, medical care, and employment.
The researchers found that 27 percent of respondents had little or no confidence in being able to afford the cost of their health insurance during the next year. Forty-five percent had little or no confidence in being able to afford the cost of health insurance in retirement. Those aged 60 to 64 years were more likely than those aged 50 to 59 years to be confident about being able to afford the cost of health insurance in retirement (63 versus 52 percent). Overall, 11 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds reported thinking about going without health insurance and 5 percent decided to go without health insurance in the last year. Nineteen percent of adults aged 50 to 64 years kept a job, considered delaying retirement, or delayed retirement to keep their employer-sponsored health insurance.
“Innovative policy solutions are needed to help adults in this age group navigate their insurance options,” Malani said in a statement.
National Poll on Healthy Aging
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