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. 2005;24 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):W5R18-29.
doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.w5.r18.

The lifetime burden of chronic disease among the elderly

Geoffrey F Joyce  1 , Emmett B Keeler, Baoping Shang, Dana P Goldman
Affiliations

The lifetime burden of chronic disease among the elderly

Geoffrey F Joyce et al. Health Aff (Millwood). 2005.

Abstract

The high costs of treating chronic diseases suggest that reducing their prevalence would improve Medicare's financial stability. In this paper we examine the impact of selected chronic diseases on the distribution of health spending and its variation over the course of disease. We also use a microsimulation model to estimate these conditions' impact on life expectancy and health spending from age sixty-five to death. A sixty-five-year-old with a serious chronic illness spends 1000-2000 dollars more per year on health care than a similar adult without the condition. However, cumulative Medicare payments are only modestly higher for the chronically ill because of their shorter life expectancy.

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Figures

Exhibit 2.
Exhibit 2.
Annual Medical Expenditures by Chronic Condition and Stage of Disease
Exhibit 3.
Exhibit 3.
Total Annual Medical Expenditures Pre- and Post-Diagnosis
Exhibit 4.
Exhibit 4.
90th Percentile of Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Year of Diagnosis (t) and Three Years Later (t+3)
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