Pickleball Injuries Cost Americans Nearly $400 Million This Year—And Seniors Are Hit The Hardest

Topline Pickleball could be a major culprit in injuries leading to an increase in people using healthcare services—news that caused big health insurance companies’ shares to fall earlier this month—according to UBS analysts, who released a note Monday estimating Americans will spend between $250 million and $500 million in costs tied to pickle injuries this year. UBS analysts estimated pickleball will result in approximately $377,000,000 of medical costs for … [+] Americans this year, 80% of which will be incurred in an outpatient setting.Matt York/AP Photo Key Facts In the note, UBS highlighted certain demographic figures to back up its claim that pickleball could be contributing to the rise in healthcare costs, including: seniors make up about one third of the 22.3 million people expected to play pickleball this year, and pickleball players tend to have high incomes, with nearly half bringing home more than $100,000 annually. They then looked at pickleball injury data, which shows injuries tied to the sport among players 60 and older have been rapidly increasing for years and the sport has become “an increasingly important cause of injury” for seniors, according to one study. The increases in players and demographic breakdown of those enjoying the
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