Seniors are Benefiting from Improved Clinical Care, but Face Economic Barriers to Better Health
May 10 2017 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
- Fifth annual America’s Health
Rankings Senior Report® shows sustained reductions in
preventable hospitalizations and hospital deaths
- New survey data find most current
and future seniors are not prepared to meet rising health care
costs in retirement, unsure of their future health care savings
needs
- Minnesota replaces Massachusetts as
healthiest state for seniors; Mississippi has greatest opportunity
for improvement in seniors’ health
America’s seniors are seeing improvements in clinical care but
are facing significant economic barriers to better health,
according to the key findings from United Health Foundation’s fifth
annual America’s Health Rankings Senior Report. Accompanying the
report is new survey data, released in partnership with the
Alliance for Aging Research, highlighting risks of health savings
shortfalls among current and future seniors and uncertainty about
future health care savings needs.
Seniors seeing improvements in key clinical care
measures
The report finds continued notable improvements in care quality
and outcomes since 2013, including:
- a 25 percent reduction in preventable
hospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries age 65+;
- a 30 percent decrease in hospital
deaths among Medicare decedents age 65+;
- a 7 percent decrease in hospital
readmissions among Medicare beneficiaries age 65+; and
- a 9 percent reduction in visits to the
ICU in the last six months of life among Medicare decedents age
65+.
New survey data highlight notable health savings shortfalls
among current and future seniors
- Sixty-two percent of retired seniors
age 65+ and nearly three out of four non-retired adults age 50 to
64 have less in total retirement savings than what experts
recommend saving for health care costs alone.
- Current and future seniors with
retirement savings of $20,000 or less are more likely to be in poor
health and have chronic disease compared to those with higher rates
of retirement savings.
A high percentage of current and future seniors are unsure
about how much they need to save to cover anticipated – and
unexpected – health care costs in retirement
- Fifty percent of retired seniors and 36
percent of non-retired adults age 50-64 don’t know or have no
opinion of how much money their households will need for both
anticipated and unexpected health care costs during
retirement.
Minnesota ranks 1st; Mississippi ranks
50th in senior health
Minnesota is the healthiest state for seniors, rising from
fourth place last year, while Mississippi drops two spots to become
the state with the greatest opportunity for improvement in senior
health. Among rankings, the report found:
- Utah (2), Hawaii (3), Colorado (4), New
Hampshire (5) and Massachusetts (6) round out the healthiest states
for seniors.
- In addition to Mississippi, Kentucky
(49), Oklahoma (48), Louisiana (47), Arkansas (46) and West
Virginia (45) have the greatest opportunities to improve seniors’
health and well-being.
- California and South Dakota made the
greatest strides to improve their health rankings over the past
year. California jumped from 28 to 16 in the rankings, primarily
due to decreases in smoking prevalence, physical inactivity and
obesity. South Dakota improved its rank from 25 to 15 due to
factors like a decrease in preventable hospitalizations, and an
increase in excellent or very good health status and health
screenings.
“Though clinical care for our nation’s seniors is improving, new
data in this report show that seniors are facing higher social and
economic barriers that are putting their overall health at risk,”
said Rhonda Randall, D.O., senior adviser to United Health
Foundation and chief medical officer and executive vice president,
UnitedHealthcare Retiree Solutions. “Rising rates of obesity and
food insecurity, especially when paired with the potential
shortfalls in health care savings of many current and future
seniors, underscore the need for action to help seniors live
healthier lives.”
“We are encouraged by the improving quality of care current
seniors are receiving, yet more needs to be done to help prepare
current and future older adults to meet the costs of this care,”
said Susan Peschin, MHS, president and CEO of Alliance for Aging
Research. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with
United Health Foundation to draw needed attention to this
under-discussed aspect of senior health. We hope this report sparks
conversation among seniors, family caregivers and advocates about
ways to solve these ongoing affordability and cost-transparency
challenges.”
About America’s Health Rankings Senior Report and Issue
Brief
America’s Health Rankings Senior Report, in its fifth annual
edition, offers a comprehensive analysis of senior population
health on a national and state-by-state basis across 34 measures of
senior health. In commissioning the report, United Health
Foundation seeks to promote discussion around the health of older
Americans while driving communities, governments, stakeholders and
individuals to take action to improve senior health.
Researchers draw data from more than a dozen government agencies
and leading research organizations to create a focused, uniquely
rich dataset for measuring senior health at the state level,
including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the
U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Labor, The
Dartmouth Atlas Project, the National Foundation to End Senior
Hunger and the Commonwealth Fund. For more information, visit
www.AmericasHealthRankings.org.
“Preparing for Health Care Costs in Retirement: An America’s
Health Rankings® Issue Brief,” released by United Health Foundation
in collaboration with the Alliance for Aging Research, examines the
degree to which current and future retirees are prepared to meet
rising health care costs in retirement. The issue brief is based on
a national survey of 1,997 retired seniors (age 65+) and
non-retired adults (age 50-64), as well as a review of studies on
recommended health care savings targets in retirement.
About Alliance for Aging Research
The Alliance for Aging Research is the leading nonprofit
organization dedicated to accelerating the pace of scientific
discoveries and their application to vastly improve the universal
human experience of aging and health. The Alliance was founded in
1986 in Washington, D.C., and has since become a valued advocacy
organization and a respected influential voice with
policymakers. For more information, please visit
www.agingresearch.org.
About United Health FoundationThrough collaboration with
community partners, grants and outreach efforts, United Health
Foundation works to improve our health system, build a diverse and
dynamic health workforce and enhance the well-being of local
communities. United Health Foundation was established by
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) in 1999 as a not-for-profit, private
foundation dedicated to improving health and health care. To date,
United Health Foundation has committed nearly $358 million to
programs and communities around the world. We invite you to learn
more at www.unitedhealthgroup.com/SocialResponsibility or
follow Facebook.com/UHGGives.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UHGGives/Website:
www.americashealthrankings.org
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United Health FoundationDanielle Varallo,
202-654-8847danielle_varallo@uhg.com
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