title: Does the aging of the population really drive the demand for health care?
abstract: In the debate on health policy, it is widely believed that the aging of the U.S. population is a major driver of the annual growth in the demand for health care and in national health spending. This essay draws on the research literature and on data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (MEPS) to debunk that myth. Although in any year per capita health spending for people age sixty-five or older tends to average three to five times that for younger Americans, the aging of the population is too gradual a process to rank as a major cost driver in health care.
authors.affiliation: Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Uwe E
authors.initials: UE
authors.lastname: Reinhardt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006291:Health Policy / Q000639:trends*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000191:economics; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D006278:Medicare / Q000639:trends*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012943:Social Security / Q000639:trends*; D014481:United States