Confronting Ageism As A Driver Of Health Inequity Debra J. Lipson June 11, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/briefs/confronting-ageism-driver-health-inequity?utm_campaign=health+policy+brief&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--bfbjU4PZxv-OZbFamM-msXKs6fYrlOmcvZNmqR3SItGGkDqsy1BMn_WlAV8oIKmRM90k_56jEmjbCa0XpINTd0lG1iw&_hsmi=423554003&utm_source=hasu Key Points People ages sixty-five and older are the highest users of hospitals, physician services, and pharmaceutical drugs. Discrimination against older adults in health care settings is commonplace. Ageism, or bias against older people on the basis of their age, is associated with worse health outcomes. The excess cost to the US health system of ageism has been estimated at $63 billion each year, or about 15 percent of annual medical expenditures. Ageism, including age discrimination, affects health care use, quality, and costs through undertreatment, overtreatment, and inappropriate care. Proven interventions to counter ageism in health care include efforts to strengthen the geriatric care workforce and to implement new health care delivery models that provide more appropriate care to older adults. To reduce the adverse impact of ageism in health care, policy makers and health system leaders should require health professional educators to devote more time to geriatric training, implement financial incentives to promote the use of age-friendly care practices and effective geriatric care models, and mount multisector public awareness campaigns to combat ageist beliefs and attitudes.