Election Day is in a matter of months. For older voters, that means looking at how candidates are addressing the health issues that matter to them most.
A new study published in JAMA on Wednesday breaks down precisely what these concerns are, and whether they might have a bearing on how older adults vote on Nov. 5. As the new research — conducted by a team from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI) and based on data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging — notes, more than half of Americans who voted in the 2020 election were 50 and older.
Ahead of the 2024 election, more than 2,500 U.S. adults between the ages of 50 and 101 were asked to rate their level of concern about 26 different health-related policy issues and how they might affect older adults in their community. Here’s what they said.
Money matters
Older adults appear to be feeling the pinch when it comes to health care costs. Of the top six issues that survey participants said they were “very concerned” about, five involved medical expenses. The cost of home care, assisted living and nursing home care was ranked first, followed by the cost of medical care (second), cost of prescription medications (third), and cost of health insurance and Medicare (fifth). The cost of dental care came in sixth, with 45% of participants expressing concern.
Those who identified as politically liberal were more likely to be very concerned about these issues, researchers note. For example, 68% of liberal-minded respondents were very concerned about the cost of medical care, compared with 56% of those identifying as moderate and 51% of those who said they were conservative. And women were also more likely to express concern about cost issues than men.
Even so, a majority of each demographic still considered health costs a pressing issue, study author Dr. John Ayanian, IHPI director and a professor of medicine and health care policy at the University of Michigan, tells Yahoo Life. “We were surprised how consistently over half of older adults were very concerned about the costs of medical care and prescription drugs across the political spectrum, and among nearly all demographic groups defined by gender, race, education, income or region,” he says.
“Although policymakers have taken steps in recent years to reduce health care costs for older adults, particularly related to prescription drugs in Medicare, our survey suggests older voters have a strong interest in more action on this issue,” Ayanian adds. “Candidates for president and Congress should focus on communicating their plans for controlling the costs of health care.”
What else does the survey, conducted in February and March 2024, tell us about what older adults have on their minds when it comes to health right now? Here are a few more takeaways.
Drugs and alcohol are less pressing
A University of Michigan study released last year found that 1 in 8 people over age 50 use cannabis products, including for medical reasons. And while experts have flagged the negative health effects — such as cognitive impairment — that might accompany usage, this new survey suggests that older adults themselves aren’t so worried. Marijuana or cannabis use was ranked last among the 26 health policy issues addressed, with just 10.6% of respondents saying they were very concerned about it. That’s just slightly lower than the percentage (11.2%) of respondents who expressed concern about alcohol use, which landed in the 25th spot.
By contrast, older adults expressed more concern about opioid and fentanyl use (558 out of 2,576 survey participants, or 21.6%). Though U.S. overdose deaths involving opioids dropped in 2023, they had been steadily increasing since 2018. That public health crisis has raised alarm among the older population, given the number of opioid prescriptions issued to older adults to manage pain, and the rising rates of opioid misuse and opioid use disorder.
Scams are top of mind
The fourth most concerning health issue cited by participants was financial scams and fraud, which 1,377 people (or 52.8% of those surveyed) said they were very concerned about. According to the FBI, older victims are more likely to be targeted by scams, with more than 101,000 people over 60 reporting fraud in 2023 compared to about 18,000 fraud victims age 20 and under. Elder fraud involving victims age 60 and up also caused more than $3.4 billion in losses last year, an annual increase of about 11%.
More than a quarter of older adults are very concerned about loneliness
Research has shown that loneliness can have an adverse effect on older adults’ physical and mental health. It’s little surprise, then, that 28% of respondents reported feeling very concerned about social isolation and loneliness, which ranked 13th. Meanwhile, 27.6% percent of those surveyed cited the ability to age in place as a top concern.
Quality counts
Along with affordability, older adults want to make sure they’re receiving high-quality health care as they age. More than a third (38.1%) said they were very concerned about getting access to quality home care, assisted living or nursing home care, and 33.7% worried about health care quality in general. Further down the rankings, 29.2% were concerned about access to quality mental health care.
