New National Council on Aging (NCOA) research shows the high cost of chronic illness and why it matters. Their webpage: Chronic Inequities — Measuring Disease Cost Burden Among Older Adults in the U.S. – A Health and Retirement Study Analysis includes key takeaways:
- A person’s health directly impacts their wealth—and this connection becomes even more acute as people age.
- Women and people of color are more likely to experience higher treatment costs and greater lost wages due to chronic disease.
— For example, 39% of black and hispanic older adults lost wages due to chronic disease vs. 17% of whites. - At the same time, these individuals have the fewest financial resources to draw upon
