Many Medicare patients cannot afford a single hospital visit.

A new study finds that many low- and moderate-income people on Medicare don’t have enough money to pay for a hospital visit.

Here’s the problem:

• Medicare helps seniors pay for health care, but it doesn’t cover everything.

• People still have to pay some expenses out of pocket, such as hospital deductibles.

• The study found that 30-50% of people with lower incomes on Medicare would not be able to afford this deductible.

Who suffered the most?

• Blacks and Hispanics

• People with less education

• People with many health problems

Why is this important?

• Many people on Medicare may find themselves in financial difficulty if they have to go to the hospital.

• The study suggests we need to find ways to better protect people receiving health care from these high costs.

About the study

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania used data from the 2018 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to identify respondents enrolled in Medicare who would face financial instability if they had to pay a $1,600 Medicare Part A hospital deductible.

The researchers focused on respondents whose income was between 100% and 400% or less of the federal poverty level, or the so-called “economic middle” among Medicare recipients. This group includes people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but may still qualify for financial assistance in other programs.

Financial instability was defined as insufficient funds to pay the hospital’s Medicare deductible and was considered under 4 scenarios that included checking and savings account balances, total liquid assets (with a reserve for future living expenses), and supplemental insurance.

The researchers found that between 34.6% and 50.7% of the beneficiaries studied would face financial instability if hospitalized because they would not have sufficient resources or additional insurance to cover the associated out-of-pocket expenses.

Given that just one hospitalization can deplete the financial resources of a large proportion of Medicare beneficiaries, these results suggest a need to expand financial protection for people with moderate incomes and limited assets.

The results were published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.