Medicare Spends More on Socially Isolated
Older Adults
Social ly isolated older adults tend to have poorer health
and a higher r isk of death. This study is the f irst to
show that a lack of social contact is also associated with increased Medicare spending.
Social Isolation
So
cia
l Is
ola
tio
n
Soc ia l i so la t ion i s def ined as a lack
of contac ts wi th o thers .
Soc ia l i so la t ion i s a s igni f i cant r i sk
fac tor for poor heal th and increased
r isk of death.
Older adul t s may be more l ike ly
than the i r younger counterpar ts to
exper ience soc ia l i so la t ion and i t s
negat ive consequences.
S o c i a l I s o l a t i o n
A r t h r i t i s
H i g h B l o o d P r e s s u r e
H e a r t D i s e a s e
D i a b e t e s
A d d i t i o n a l M o n t h l y C o s t t o M e d i c a r e f o r a S o c i a l l y I s o l a t e d E n r o l l e e a n df o r a n E n r o l l e e w i t h S e l e c t e d C h r o n i c C o n d i t i o n s
$ 1 3 4
$ 1 1 7
$ 1 6 3
$ 2 4 1
$ 2 7 0
Each month, Medicare spent an es t imated $134 more
for soc ia l l y
i so la ted o lder adul t s ($1,608 more annual ly ) .
Soc ial isolat ion among older adul ts is associated with an $6.7 billion
in addit ional Medicare spending annual ly.
est imated
Principal Findings
An es t imated 4 mil l ion
enrol led in Or ig inal Medicare
(14 percent of benef ic iar ies )
have l imi ted soc ia l contac ts .
people
Soc ia l l y i so la ted indiv iduals were
29 percent more l ike ly to get care
$75 higher
in a sk i l led nurs ing fac i l i t y (SNF)
and the i r month ly SNF cos ts were
.
The cos t o f soc ia l i so la t ion to Medicare i s comparable to that of
some chronic condi t ions.
Develop a va l id and
re l iable tool to screen
for i so la t ion.
Screen o lder adul t s
dur ing Welcome to
Medicare and annual
wel lness v i s i t s .
Deve lop and fund
par tnersh ips to
ident i fy ev idence-
based in tervent ions.
E levate the
discuss ion of
soc ia l i so la t ion in
the publ ic heal th
communi ty .
Inc lude soc ia l i so la t ion
in the lex icon of soc ia l
determinants of heal th .
Policy Solutions Federal and state governments, in par tnership with
the pr ivate sector, should:
2
3
4
5
1
Po
licy
So
luti
on
s
S o u r c e : M e d i c a r e S p e n d s M o r e o n S o c i a l l y I s o l a t e d O l d e r A d u l t s . I n s i g h t o n t h e
I s s u e s 1 2 5 . L y n d a F l o w e r s , A r i H o u s e r , C l a i r e N o e l - M i l l e r , ( A A R P P u b l i c P o l i c y
I n s t i t u t e ) ; J o n a t h a n S h a w , J a y B h a t t a c h a r y a , L e n a S c h o e m a k e r , ( S t a n f o r d
U n i v e r s i t y ) ; M o n i c a F a r i d , ( H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y ) . N o v e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 1 7
