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2000 Study
Senior Citizens Pay More
Out-of-Pocket for Dental Care Than Younger Americans
May 7, 2004 – The current focus on
the economic problems of the American elderly is on the cost of
prescription drugs, but there is another serious medical cost not
covered by Medicare – dental services – that most seniors pay with their
own funds.
People 65 and older paid more than
three-quarters of their dental expenses with out-of-pocket funds, while
younger Americans paid for only about half of their dental care expenses
in 2000. The average cash-cost for senior citizens was $400 and only
10.5 percent paid no dental costs.
These figures are reported in an
on-going trend study on dental services by the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality. The study is named the Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey (MEPS).
Elderly Pay More out of Pocket for
Dental Services Than Any Other Age Group
Other dental statistics from MEPS:
> During the period 1996 through
2000, about 42 percent of the U.S. population received dental care at
least once each year from a dentist, dental technician, dental
hygienist, dental surgeon, orthodontist, endodontist or periodontist.
> For people who had a dental visit
in 2000, average dental expenses totaled $480, an increase of about 28
percent over the average expense in 1996.
> Compared with all other age
groups, children ages 6-18 were most likely to use dental services and
had the highest total annual dental expenses. In 2000, that amount
averaged $607 per child.
> In each year from 1996 through
2000, blacks and Hispanics were much less likely to have a dental visit
than were whites. In 2000, 26.8 percent of blacks and 25.7 percent of
Hispanics had a dental visit, as compared with 46.7 percent of whites.
> In every year from 1996 through
2000, women were more likely to use dental services than men. In 2000,
44.9 percent of women had at least one dental visit, compared with 38.2
percent of men.
> In 2000, average out-of-pocket
expenses for people with at least one dental visit were highest in the
Northeast and lowest in the Midwest. However, between 1996 and 2000,
people in the South, Midwest and West experienced a substantial increase
in their average out-of-pocket dental expenses (from $139 to $204 in the
Midwest, $194 to $240 in the West, $202 to $245 in the South, and $247
to $261 in the Northeast).
MEPS collects information each year
from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households on health
care use, expenses, access, health status, and quality. MEPS is a unique
government survey because only MEPS provides the ability to link data on
medical care use, payments, and health insurance coverage with data on
demographics and socioeconomic status. Details are in MEPS Research
Findings #20: Dental Services: Use, Expenses, and Sources of Payment,
1996-2000, found on the MEPS Web site at
www.meps.ahrq.gov/PrintProducts/PrintProd_Detail.asp?ID=614.
Dental
services: Mean expense per person with a visit and percent
distribution of sources of payment, by selected population
characteristics, United
States, 2000
a Includes the Department of Veterans Affairs; CHAMPUS or
TRICARE (Armed-Forces-related coverage); Indian Health Service; military
treatment facilities; Federal, State, and local programs other than
Medicaid; and other kinds of insurance not specified.
b Includes all other ethnic/racial groups not shown separately.
c Includes population with private and public coverage.
d Poor refers to persons living in families with incomes below the
Federal poverty line; near poor, over the poverty line through 125
percent
of the poverty line; low income, over 125 percent through 200 percent of
the poverty line; middle income, over 200 percent through 400
percent of the poverty line; and high income, over 400 percent of the
poverty line.
e For individuals ages 16 and over.
* Relative standard error is greater than or equal to 30 percent.
Note: Percents may not add to 100 because of rounding.
Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey,
1996-2000. |
