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:

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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