Ageing Britain: two-fifths of NHS budget is spent on over-65s

Ageing Britain: two-fifths of NHS budget is spent on over-65s



Data produced for the Guardian shows how health spending is split across age groups, with costs set to rise as people live longer



More than two-fifths of national health spending in the UK is devoted to people over 65, according to estimates produced for the Guardian by the Nuffield Trust – a figure that is only likely to increase with the nation’s ageing demographic.



The data shows that an 85-year-old man costs the NHS about seven times more on average than a man in his late 30s. Health spending per person steeply increases after the age of 50, with people aged 85 and over costing the NHS an average of £7,000 a year. Spending on health services across all age groups is £2,069, according to Treasury analysis.

Guardian

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