Senior citizens’ medical expenditures totaled NT$169.1 billion (US$5.7 billion) in 2009, an 88 percent increase over the figure from 10 years ago, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
A report from the department showed that the figure is expected to soar even higher over the next 10 years as the country’s elderly population increases.
The report indicated that 2.49 million people aged 65 and over accounted for 34 percent of national health insurance expenditure, even though they accounted for only 10.9 percent of the population.
Of this spending, 42 percent was used for the treatment of urological diseases, orthopedics, cancer, accidents and cadiovascular disease.
According to the statistics, the number of people aged 65 and over accounted for 10.9 percent of the country’s total by the end of last year, up from 8.8 percent 10 years ago.
Over the next decade, this age demographic is estimated to rise by a further 6.2 percentage points. The increase has been attributed to the baby boom — the surge in the birthrate following World War II.
Baby boomers have reached, or are approaching, the age of 65, the department said.
Along with the increase in their numbers, the medical expenses they incur will also continue to post rapid growth over the next 10 years.
In addition, given longer average life spans, the expenditure jump among people aged 80 years and over was even more pronounced, with medical expenses skyrocketing by 219 percent to NT$53 billion in 2009 from 10 years earlier.
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