Health Care Costs

In 2010, health care costs accounted for 17% of the GDP; it is projected to reach ~20% by 2017. The typical person covered by Medicare will have out-of-pocket medical expenses of more than $4,300 per year ($8,600 for a couple). These figures include health care premiums, copays, and expenditures not covered by Medicare. It is estimated a healthy 65-year-old couple will need $260,000 to pay for health care and LTC costs for the remainder of their lives.

 

The cost of nursing home care is expensive: national average rates for a private room are $1,250 daily or $90,000 annually in 2010; the national average rate in 2010 for a semiprivate room was $78,000 a year.

 

Premiums for Medicare Part B are taking a growing bite out of Social Security checks. For 2012, Medicare Part B premiums will account for 8.2% of the average Social Security benefit, up from 5.1% in 2000. While the average Social Security check is 31% higher than it was in 2001, premiums for Medicare Part B have doubled.