Even as costs for medical services and prescriptions rise, a new report finds that seniors are spending less on health care during the pandemic.

It is not uncommon for retirees to shell out thousands of dollars annually for healthcare. In fact, experts estimate that the annual out-of-pocket healthcare expense for a healthy 65-year-old couple is close to $5,700 per person, according to a recent study by RBC Wealth Management.

But for many seniors, the pandemic resulted in a rare drop in healthcare spending in 2020, according to a new survey by the Senior Citizens League (TSCL).     

The nationwide survey of more than 1098 participants found that the percentage of individuals (30%) reported paying more than $1,000 in 2019 for healthcare nearly doubled that of those (17%) paying the same in 2020. Also, there was a significant increase in the numbers of individuals with lower levels of spending. In 2019, 13% paid less than $160 versus 20% in 2020; and 22% paid between $160 and $375 in 2019 versus 29% in 2020.

The welcoming savings, however, was merely an interruption due to the Covid crisis, as noted by Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for the TSCL. “This was most likely due to the large number of doctors’, dental and other medical visits that were postponed or cancelled as our nation awaited vaccines,” she said.

Johnson, who is 69 and receives Medicare, noted that she, too, saved quite a bit on health care last year, most of which came from the postponement of pricey dental work and getting new glasses. In 2019, she paid a total of $9,500 or about $791 a month in healthcare costs, including premiums for Medicare Part B, a Medigap supplement, prescription drug plan, and dental insurance, as well as out-of- pocket spending. In 2020, her total healthcare spending dropped 43% to $5,397, or $449 per month.

“Since starting Medicare, I can think of no other time since when my healthcare spending went down by this much,” Johnson says. 

But now that she and many other seniors have been immunized against Covid, they have begun to make up for postponed medical visits and getting routine care for this year, she said. “What is not so clear is the extent to which other older adults will make up postponed care or experience increased spending for newly-diagnosed conditions or worsened health,” she said.

Johnson said she would encourage retirees and older adults under age 64 to get vaccinated, and carefully start rescheduling postponed appointments.

For Medicare recipients, the good news as they begin to revisit their doctors is that Medicare Part B rose last year to $144.60, an increase of $9.10 per month, one of the larger increases in recent years, Johnson noted. It was $135.50 per month in 2019. She said the increase was just $3.90 in 2021 and the premium rose to $148.50, after legislation restricted the increase out of fears of an unfavorably high premium spike in 2021.

On the other hand, the 2021 cost-of-living adjustment came up short for most seniors. The 1.3% raised their net monthly Social Security benefit by less than $15, according to a survey by TSCL, which also pointed out that 65% of retirees said their 2020 monthly household expenses rose by more than $80 and 40% said such expenses were up by $120 or more.

The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation’s largest nonpartisan seniors’ groups with 1.2 million supporters. It promotes and assists members and supporters and educates and alerts senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. citizens.