Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108CH APTER 1 31 Use of Alternative Medicines and Supplements Alternative medicine includes a broad range of healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies that conventional medicine does not commonly use or understand. These practices include, for example, the use of acupuncture, herbs, homeopa- thy, therapeutic massage, and traditional oriental medicine. Among HRS respondents to an experi- mental module in 2000, nearly half reported that they had been to a chiropractor, 20 percent had used massage therapy, and 7 percent had used acupuncture at least once in their lives (Ness et al. 2005). In the same experimental module, more than half of respondents said they had used some kind of dietary or herbal supplement (Table 1-4). Nearly two-thirds of the respondents had used some kind of vitamin supplement in the month prior to the survey. On average, respondents spent $173 a year on those supplements. The most popular supple- ment, multivitamins, was taken by half the sample. About one in five people reported using some kind of herbal supplement during the previous month, and spent an average of $135 per year on herbals. Garlic, echinacea, gingko biloba, and ginseng were the most commonly used of these supplements. Aging and Medical Expenditures Health care expenditures can rise considerably with age, and the HRS provides detail on the amounts paid directly by respondents, sometimes called out-of-pocket expenditures. Data from 2002 show a steady increase with age in the dol- lar amount of out-of-pocket medical expenditures (Figure 1-9). Mean medical out-of-pocket expendi- tures during the 2-year period prior to the survey ranged from $2,900 for respondents ages 55 to 64 to $4,400 for people age 85 and older. visits were the largest component of out-of- pocket expenditures among younger respondents (ages 55 to 64), some of whom were not covered TBL. 1-4 supplement use: 2000 (Percent using each item in the month prior to the 2000 survey) Dietary Supplements Herbal Supplements Multivitamin 50% Garlic 8% Vitamin E 38 Echinacea 8 Calcium 34 Gingko Biloba 7 Vitamin C 32 Ginseng 6 Vitamin D 14 Saw Palmetto 4 Magnesium 12 Aloe 4 Vitamin A 10 St. John’s Wort 4 Others 24 Others 14 Source: HRS 2000. FIG. 1-9 average out-of-pocket medical expenditure, by age: 2000-2002 (For the 2-year period prior to the 2002 survey) $0 $500 85+ 75-84 65-74 55-64 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 $3,500 $4,000 $4,500 The major components of medical out-of-pocket spending vary by age as well. Data from the 2002 survey wave show that hospital and doctor