Table 4.

Impact of Medicare on Out-of-Pocket Spending in the MEPS: 2007–2010

	Mean	Median	75th percentile	90th percentile	95th percentile	Share out-of-pocket	Share out-of-pocket costs that exceed income
Panel A. Quadratic in age, MEPS 2007–2010
Age 65+	−326** (98)	−47 (42)	−210** (102)	−865*** (166)	−1,730*** (398)	−0.02 (0.015)	−0.040*** (0.009)
Mean pre-65	1,003	464	1,188	2,403	3,724	0.327	0.074
Relative effect (percent)	−32.55	−10.07	−17.64	−36.00	−52.84	−6.12	−53.86
Observations	32,569	32,569	32,569	32,569	32,569	29,378	32,569
Panel B. Linear trend in age, MEPS 2007–2010
Age 65+	−255*** (61)	−66** (27)	−242*** (65)	−843*** (108)	−1,391*** (266)	−0.037*** (0.011)	−0.032*** (0.006)
Mean pre-65	1,003	464	1,188	2,403	3,724	0.327	0.074
Relative effect (percent)	25.44	−14.37	−20.40	−35.10	−37.35	−11.31	−43.94
Observations	32,569	32,569	32,569	32,569	32,569	29,378	32,569
Panel C. Third-order polynomial in age, MEPS 2007–2010
Age 65+	−348** (125)	−141** (56)	−352*** (125)	−1,145*** (240)	−2,090*** (470)	−0.019 (0.02)	−0.031*** (0.011)
Mean pre-65	1,003	464	1,188	2,403	3,724	0.327	0.074
Relative effect (percent)	−34.75	−30.44	−29.64	−47.65	−63.88	−5.81	−41.41
Observations	32,569	32,569	32,569	32,569	32,569	29,378	32,569

Notes: All regressions include a constant, an indicator for ages 65 and above, and a polynomial in age in quarters that is allowed to vary on either side of age 65. Panel A uses a quadratic in age, while panel B uses a linear trend, and panel C uses a cubic in age in quarters. Standard errors for OLS regressions (mean out-of-pocket spending and share out of pocket) are clustered by age in quarters. Standard errors for quantile regressions are based on a block bootstrap with 500 draws, where the block is age in quarters.

^***Significant at the 1 percent level.

^**Significant at the 5 percent level.

^*Significant at the 10 percent level.

Source: Data are from the 2007–2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and include respondents aged 50 to 80.