Having high quality hip protection is essential when you’re in your senior years. As you grow older, your bones can become weak especially if you were not in the habit of minding your bone’s health in the past. Moreover, you could also be prone to falling, which can lead to fractures.
Let’s face it. Despite ensuring our home is as accident-free as possible as part of taking care of our elderly and/or ourselves, our seniors could still fall down on their own. Comfortable, wearable hip protection for the elderly essentially protects, or at least minimizes, the chance of fracturing the bones when falling. By having this protection today, you save yourself from the high costs of healing a broken hip, if that should happen.
While we can’t give the exact numbers on the average cost of a broken hip, we’ll be discussing some factors that you should consider.
Death
Sorry to say this, but it has to be mentioned. The risk of death is higher in older adults with broken bones, including hip fractures.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism by the global community, Endocrine Society, revealed that a fracture can cause a variety of health problems long after it has healed and can lead to premature death. They also identified that the heightened risk of death can last for 10 years in the case of hip fractures while the risk is around five years for most other fractures. According to the study, a significant risk was still observed in some cases even if the hip fracture was more than 10 years ago.
Free yourself from worry by ensuring that you have trusted hip protection for elderly that you can comfortably wear.
Monetary Costs without Insurance
Almost 10 years ago, the average cost of hip surgery ranged from $10,000 to $125,000, The Washington Post reported, citing a study. That’s generally for the procedure and hospitalization alone i.e. excluding rehabilitation.
The costs of procedure and hospitalization actually vary on many factors, including where you live. For example, in a 2012 data, hospitals in California charged an average of $73,000 to fix a broken hip while those in Massachusetts, Utah and West Virginia charged an average of between $25,000 and $27,000.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has revealed that there are more than 450,000 total hip replacements performed every year in the country. As the population ages, it’s predicted that there will be 652,000 hip surgeries in 2025 and 850,000 in 2030, which means that the costs will be much higher as the demand increases.
People going on overseas trips for medical procedures have become common over the past years. The procedures are generally much cheaper than having them in the US, but you run the risk of getting low-quality surgery.
Monetary Costs with Insurance
You might think that your hip surgery costs will be taken care of by your insurance company. However, your insurer will only cover a small portion of your total surgery costs. In the same 2012 data above, insured patients typically still needed to shell out a few thousand of dollars or more for their hip replacements. The personal costs will depend on your insurance policy.
Post-Surgery Costs
Calculating the expenses becomes more complicated once you’ll be discharged from the hospital. For one, you will have to visit your physician on a regular basis. Whether or not you’re insured, you’ll typically still have to shell out a few dollars related to these visits.
Moreover, you’ll require rehabilitation, physical therapy, and related treatments after the surgery regardless of where you’re discharged to i.e. at home with home physical therapy, in a nursing facility, or in the inpatient rehabilitation facility.
The Non-Monetary Costs
The non-monetary costs of fixing a hip fracture include the psychological and mental distress that you might be experiencing, knowing that life will never be the same for you at least in the next few months or years. Physically, your movements are limited, and thus, your independence is reduced.
In a cohort study in 2021, it is revealed that the prevalence of newly developed mental disorders increases after hip fracture in the elderly.
Protect Yourself from Fractures Today!
Elder Armor USA offers a high quality hip protection that you can comfortably wear every day to protect yourself from the risks of fractures on the thigh, tailbone and hips when falling. With this innovative product, you can confidently walk around the house or anywhere else without worrying.
