Aging populations and expenditures on health

Malene Kallestrup-Lamb, Alexander O.K. Marin, Seetha Menon and Jes Søgaard

The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 2024, vol. 29, issue C

Abstract: Aging populations exert upwards pressure on healthcare systems, raising concerns about increasing expenditures on health. This paper reviews the empirical literature on the issue and critically assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the outcomes measured, methodologies used, and the hypotheses tested. While age strongly predicts long-term care expenditure, the time-to-death factor renders the aging effect null for hospital care expenditure. Existing literature disagrees on the importance of age and time-to-death effects on prescription drug and ambulatory care costs. Morbidity and medical innovation mediate these effects, proving crucial for aging-related healthcare expenditure growth. We identify several opportunities for future research including gender differences, utilization of emerging methods, and the importance of institutional settings.

Keywords: Population aging; Expenditures on health; Red Herring hypothesis; Steepening hypothesis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joecag:v:29:y:2024:i:c:s2212828x24000185

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeoa.2024.100518

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