New findings from researchers at Harvard Medical School demonstrate that individuals who were either continuously or intermittently uninsured between the ages of 51 and 64 cost Medicare more than those who had continuous insurance coverage in the years prior to Medicare eligibility.
On average, those who were previously uninsured cost Medicare an additional $1,000 annually per person when compared with those who had been consistently covered. These increased costs were due primarily to complications resulting from cardiovascular disease and diabetes and from apparently delayed surgeries for arthritis.
Had these middle-aged adults been consistently covered, they would have likely cost Medicare less, the authors conclude.
The study, published early online in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was funded by the Commonwealth Fund.
