The Slowdown in Medicare Spending Growth for Baby Boomers and Older Beneficiaries

Analysis of traditional Medicare spending and enrollment trends by age group from 2007 to 2015 shows that beneficiary age was not the "main impeller" of low Medicare spending growth, reports the Commonwealth Fund . The slowdown in Medicare per-beneficiary spending mirrors slower spending across all age groups. Furthermore, if the Medicare age distribution had not shifted during this period, the Medicare program would have still undergone lower spending growth. The number of beneficiaries aged 65 to 69 grew more than any other demographic from 2007 to 2015 as baby boomers joined Medicare. During that time span, the size of the traditional Medicare population grew 6.8 percent, from 37.5 million to 40 million. Over 3.3 million beneficiaries 65 to 74 enrolled in Medicare as boomers qualified in large numbers, while the number of beneficiaries 65 to 69 and 70 to 74 climbed by 28.9 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively. However, most older age groups experienced small declines in beneficiary population. Beneficiaries 65 to 69 comprised 23.8 percent of beneficiaries in 2007, which rose to 28.8 percent after baby boomers began joining.