Survey: Medicare Healthcare Costs Loom Large Among Women

We've crunched the data in a second report on our new healthcare cost survey of Medicare recipients 65 plus, and found some intriguing results on gender, age and education/income differences as Americans continue to navigate through the Annual Open Enrollment period and the upcoming election.

A MedicareGuide.com survey found:

Highlights on Female Medicare Beneficiaries:

• Almost two-thirds of women (66%) are concerned about their ability to pay for future healthcare compared to just over half (51%) of men.
• 18% of women report trouble paying for prescription drugs, compared to just 11% of men.
• Six in 10 (60%) women said Democrats would better protect Medicare, compared to four in 10 (43%) men.

Highlights on Age and Medicare Beneficiaries:

• By age, younger respondents (65 to 74) were more likely to report concerns about their ability to pay for future healthcare costs than those 75 and up. 62% of the 65 to 74 bracket said they were very or somewhat concerned.
• By contrast, only 55% of respondents aged 75 and older cited concerns about their ability to pay for future healthcare costs.

Highlights on Education/Income and Medicare Beneficiaries:

• Respondents with a post-graduate education favored the Democratic Party over the Republican Party by 63% to 31%.
• Those with no high school or a high school degree said by a ratio of 56% to 37% that Republicans would better protect Medicare in the future.
• This political split was not seen by income level. Respondents with under $40k, $40k to $80k, and over $80k in income all chose the Democratic over the Republican Party to ensure Medicare’s future – by margins of 18%, 6% and 13% respectively.

For full survey results, please click here.

MedicareGuide.com, an expert information source owned and operated by HealthCare.com, surveyed over 1,100 U.S. adults aged 65 and up from October 5-8. The survey was conducted by YouGov.