One key facet of many drugs is that they not solely assist folks really feel higher, however typically these drugs may also help them re-enter the workforce, work extra hours, work extra productively, or all the above. Nevertheless, when evaluating new therapies for illnesses that impression older Medicare beneficiaries (≥65 years), ought to we consider productiveness impacts?

The primary query to ask is, what share of people aged ≥65 years are literally within the labor drive. Information kind the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that 26.6% of people age 65-74 and eight.2% of people
≥75 years are within the labor drive. Information from the Medicare Present Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) finds that “7.5 p.c of beneficiaries had been enrolled in Half A solely, which incorporates folks 65 and over who’re nonetheless employed and could also be lined by employer sponsored insurance coverage (ESI).”

Medicare beneficiaries additionally earn vital revenue. The median revenue for Medicare beneficiaries is $36,000 total and $37,800 or Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years. These figures, nonetheless, embrace revenue from all sources (e.g., investments, Social Safety) along with wage revenue.

Many research don’t think about the impression of latest medicines on non-market labor similar to volunteering. Nevertheless, a examine by Grinshteyn and Sugar (2021) makes use of 2008-2018 Well being and Retirement Research (HRS) knowledge discovered that amongst older People 33.2% had volunteered previously 12 months.

In brief, whereas the productiveness impacts for older people are probably much less then for working age people, they shouldn’t be ignored completely.