Abstract
Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality among adults in the United States. Chronic diseases, and resultant higher medical expenditures for treatment and prescription medications, have increased steadily alongside cardiovascular disease diagnoses in recent years. Objective: To investigate the increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease diagnoses and possible association with increased medical expenditures in adults 65 or older. The increase in expenditures will be compared to medical costs for adults 64 and younger, based on type of health service utilized. Design, Setting, and Participants: A quantitative, deductive, retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2011 to December 2015. Data from the household component (medical conditions, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, healthcare expenditures, and use of medical services) and the medical conditions component were obtained from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey database and information was extracted for adults ≥ 18 years between 2011 and 2015. Analyses were conducted using binary logistic regression. Results/Findings: Older adults ≥ 65 years with cardiovascular disease incurred higher costs for outpatient (odds ratio 1.235; 95% CI, 1.227, 1.243), inpatient (odds ratio 2.142; 95% CI, 2.124, 2.161), and emergency room expenditures (odds ratio 1.063; 95% CI, 1.047, 1.079) when compared to adults aged 64 and younger. Conclusion and Relevance: Assessing the influences of cost disparities on chronic diseases can help address variations in health care expenditures, and can initiate tailored educational modules and evidence-based practice guidelines that can help older adults. While this study may inform and improve stakeholder collaboration between various components of the United States health care system, it also expresses a greater need for chronic disease prevention education, health care quality improvement and improved patient understanding for a rapidly aging adult population, especially among those with cardiovascular disease experiencing increased medical expenditures.
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