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Division of Aging and
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PO Box 1437
Slot S-530
Little Rock AR 72203

By Herb Sanderson, Director
Division of Aging & Adult Services

This column appears in the November 2007 edition of Aging Arkansas,
a publication of the Arkansas Aging Foundation and the
DHS Division of Aging and Adult Services.

Health Care for Older Adults:
Debunking the Financial Myths

Myth or fact: soaring medical costs in the United States can be blamed on the rapidly growing 65+ population?  Myth, says a new report "Myths of the High Medical Cost of Old Age and Dying" from the International Longevity Center-USA (ILC-USA).  According to the report, despite public perception, health care cost associated with aging is “quite limited.”

“When we imagine the end of life, most people picture a very frail older patient receiving expensive and unlimited medical care,” says Dr. Robert N. Butler, president and CEO of the ILC-USA. “The truth is only a fraction of older adults receive costly care at the end of life. In fact, they are less likely to receive aggressive care when dying then other age groups.”

The Seven Myths
The "Myths of the High Medical Cost of Old Age and Dying" identifies and dispels seven myths about caring for older people at the end of life.

Myth 1: The growing number of older people has been the primary factor driving the rise in America’s health care costs.

Fact: Population aging is not the principal determinant of rising health care costs.

Myth 2: As the population ages, health care costs for older Americans will necessarily overwhelm and bankrupt the nation.

Fact: Population aging need not impose a crushing economic burden, especially if we start now to conduct the necessary research and develop policies on health care at the end of life.

Myth 3: Putting limits on health care for the very old at the end of life would save Medicare significant amounts of money.

Fact: Limiting acute care for the very old at the end of life would save only a small fraction of the nation’s total health care bill. The proportion of Medicare spending attributable to beneficiaries in the last year of life has remained stable over the past two decades.

Myth 4: Aggressive hospital care for the aged is futile; the money spent is wasted.

Fact: Many older people who receive aggressive care survive and do well for an extended period.

Myth 5: It is common for older people to receive heroic, high-tech treatments at the end of life.

Fact: Only a fraction of people over age 65 receive aggressive care at the end of life. The older people are, the less likely they are to receive aggressive care when dying.

Myth 6: Medicare covers everything that older adults need in terms of their health care.

Fact: Medicare does not cover several essential components of health care for older Americans. For example, Medicare pays for custodial services only in the setting of acute illness; it does not pay for long-term care.

Myth 7: If all older patients had living wills or other kinds of advance directives, it would resolve dilemmas of how aggressively to provide care.

Fact: Living wills and other forms of advance directives are not a panacea. They often have little impact on or relevance to end-of-life decision-making. Physicians and health care professionals need to be trained in communicating and advising patients and families about their options, potential outcomes, and time-limited trials, especially in the face of advancing medical technology.

To download the full report or purchase a hard copy visit www.ilcusa.org or email publications@ilcusa.org.  The "Myths of the High Medical Cost of Old Age and Dying" is part of the ILC-USA’s project on Ageism In America.

Founded in 1990 by world-renowned gerontologist and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert N. Butler, M.D., ILC-USA is the first nonprofit, nonpartisan, international research, policy, and education organization formed to educate individuals on how to live longer and better, and advise society on how to maximize the benefits of today's age boom.