According to a recent study, single persons ages 85 and older ...

...  spent an average of about $13,355 on non-recurring health expenses such as home health care, nursing home stays, overnight hospital stays, and outpatient surgery, compared with only $8,530 for couples over the same two-year period.

Source: " Older Singles Face Higher Health Costs Than Couples," Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), January 21, 2016, https://www.ebri.org/pdf/PR1153.OldSngls.21Jan16.pdf