A research study published by the Health Research and Education trust in 2004 examined the average life expectancy for Americans along with the average total lifetime healthcare costs and how these are distributed.

The study found the lifetime healthcare costs for an average person to be  $316,600. Men, with an average of $268,700, had lower average lifetime healthcare costs than women ($361,200). Approximately 40 percent of the discrepancy in costs was attributed to the fact that women on average live longer than men. The average woman can expect to live to be 79.4 while men average 73.6 years, so that women live about 8 percent longer.

The distribution of healthcare costs over a person’s lifetime follows a typical pattern. Healthcare costs are high during infancy, then decrease to a low amount during childhood. Healthcare costs then rise again in adulthood, starting in middle age, during which about one-third of total lifetime health expenditures occur. More than half of the average person’s lifetime healthcare spending is incurred during their senior years.

The study found that nearly 60 percent – about $188,658 -- of all healthcare expenditures during a person’s lifetime are spent after age 65. For those who survive to be 85, it is expected that a full one-third of their lifetime healthcare costs will accrue in their remaining years.

The total average healthcare cost for the average man of $268,679 were allocated for these expenditures:

• $117, 116 -- Nursing and rehabilitation facilities
• $92,735 – Hospitals
• $24,381 --  Nursing Homes
• $71,897 – Professional Services
• $44,304 -- Prescriptions
• $29,307 – Dental
• $6,055 – Vision and hearing

The average $361,192 costs for women were allocated for these expenditures:

• $166,045 – Nursing and rehabilitation facilities
• $114065  - Hospital
• $51, 980 – Nursing home
• $95,945 – Professional services
• $58,858 – Prescriptions
• $33,141 – Dental
• $7,203 – Vision and hearing

The higher costs for women for prescriptions, nursing home care, dental, vision and hearing are all attributed to the tendency for women to live longer into more advanced age. The study concluded that
if men lived as long as women, their lifetime healthcare costs would increase by $36,600 to $305,281 about 14 percent more for a life that is 8 percent longer. Conversely, if the average woman’s lifetime decreased to the same as the average man, her lifetime healthcare cost would decrease to $317,296.

by: K. Fitzpatrick

References:
Health Research & Educational Trust, June 2004, http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1361028, retrieved Sept. 13, 2009