According to a new Issue Brief from The Commonwealth Fund, based on U.S. Census surveys, nearly a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries (11.5 million) were underinsured in 2013–14, meaning they spent a high share of their income on health care. Adding premiums to medical care expenses, 16 percent of beneficiaries (8 million) spent 20 percent or more of their income on insurance plus care. The findings underscore the need to assess beneficiary impacts of any proposal to redesign Medicare.
The Issue Brief can be accessed at http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/files/publications/issue-brief/2016/may/1874_schoen_on_medicare_but_at_risk_v4.pdf.