Risk for Financial Precarity From Hospitalization: Implications for Targeting Financial Assistance in Medicare | Annals of Internal Medicine
Background: High out-of-pocket costs in Medicare may leave many beneficiaries in financial precarity. Beneficiaries with modest incomes are often ineligible for Medicaid (which covers most out-of-pocket Medicare costs) and may have insufficient resources to pay an unexpected health care bill. This has prompted calls to improve financial protections, but the target population remains uncharacterized. Objective: To identify beneficiaries who would face financial precarity if exposed to the Medicare Part A hospital deductible ($1600). Design: Cross-sectional study of the 2018 wave of the Health and Retirement Study. Setting: United States. Participants: Community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries with incomes greater than 100% to 400% or less of the federal poverty level. Measurements: Nationally representative estimates of financial precarity, defined as having insufficient funds to pay the deductible, examined across 4 scenarios that considered checking and savings account balances, total
