Older adults forgoing health care due to cost worldwide 2021| ��ƽ��

Percentage of adults aged 65 and older who skipped doctor visit or medical test/treatment due to cost in the past year in select high-income countries in 2021

Characteristic	Did not consult/visit a doctor when had a because of the cost	Skipped a medical test or treatment because of the cost
Australia	4%	6%
Canada	4%	4%
France	3%	2%
Germany	1%	1%
Netherlands	2%	2%
New Zealand	6%	3%
Norway	1%	0%
Sweden	1%	1%
Switzerland	4%	4%
United Kingdom	4%	2%
United States	7%	8%

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Release date

October 2021

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

March 1 to June 14, 2021

Number of respondents

18,477 respondents

Age group

65 years and older

Method of interview

Telephone interviews and online survey

Supplementary notes

All respondents: 18,477 adults age 65 and older across 11 countries: Australia (501), Canada (4,332), France (1,751), Germany (1,163), Netherlands (630), New Zealand (500), Norway (500), Sweden (3,018), Switzerland (2,597), United Kingdom (1,876), United States (1,609).
Sample size for Norway was <100, and therefore results are not shown here.

Citation formats

In 2021, older adults in the United States were more likely than comparable countries to forgo a doctor's visit or medical tests/treatment due to cost. The difference between the U.S. and other countries is not as pronounced among elderlies because of the federal Medicare program. However, the issue of affordability of health care is much worse among adults under 65 years in the U.S. as it is the only one among the 11 surveyed countries without universal health insurance. This statistic presents the percentage of adults aged 65 and older who skipped doctor visit or medical test/treatment due to cost in the past year in select high-income countries in 2021.