U.S. Healthcare For Seniors Lags Behind Other Countries

The Commonwealth Fund concluded that the U.S. ranked last compared to 10 other countries for individuals who are 65+.

Americans (65+) say that the main reason for avoiding medical care is due to high costs, which is surprising considering that Medicare is allegedly free for citizens above the age of 65.

Another surprising outcome of the survey was the fact that seniors in America had the highest prevalence of chronic conditions, concluding that 87% of the surveyed had at least one chronic health condition, and 68% reported two or more. Nonetheless, the U.K. and the U.S. both scored well in areas dealing with the management of these chronic conditions.

Americans also scored high in care preferences in end-of-life planning. 78% claim that they spoke with someone about their care preferences if they become unable to make a decision, and 66% say that had a written plan about the treatment they wanted at the end-of-life.

Summary by MedicalGroups.com

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