The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released an issue brief that describes the income and assets of Medicare beneficiaries in 2014. It is essential to place proposals making changes to the Medicare program within the context of this data in order to understand the impact on beneficiaries. This is particularly true for proposals that shift costs onto beneficiaries. The brief also provides projected numbers for beneficiaries in 2030.
Some important findings from the report (all numbers are for 2014):
- Half of all Medicare beneficiaries had incomes below $24,150
- One-quarter of beneficiaries had incomes below $14,350
- Five percent had incomes exceeding $93,000 (Includes one percent who had incomes exceeding $163,600)
- Median per capita income:
- White beneficiaries: $27,450
- Black beneficiaries: $16,150
- Hispanic beneficiaries: $12,800
- More than half of all beneficiaries ages 85 and older lived on an income of less than $18,850
- Median per capita savings:
- White beneficiaries: $91,950
- Black beneficiaries: $12,350
- Hispanic beneficiaries: $9,800
- More than half of all beneficiaries ages 85 and older have less than $30,700
The full Kaiser Family Foundation Issue Brief is available at: http://files.kff.org/attachment/issue-brief-income-and-assets-of-medicare-beneficiaries-2014-2030