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dc.contributor.authorMadden, Jeanne M
dc.contributor.authorBayapureddy, Susmitha
dc.contributor.authorBriesacher, Becky A
dc.contributor.authorZhang, Fang
dc.contributor.authorRoss-Degnan, Dennis
dc.contributor.authorSoumerai, Stephen B
dc.contributor.authorGurwitz, Jerry H
dc.contributor.authorGalbraith, Alison A
dc.date.accessioned2023-04-25T13:21:09Z
dc.date.available2023-04-25T13:21:09Z
dc.date.issued2021-12-10
dc.identifier.citationMadden JM, Bayapureddy S, Briesacher BA, Zhang F, Ross-Degnan D, Soumerai SB, Gurwitz JH, Galbraith AA. Affordability of Medical Care Among Medicare Enrollees. JAMA Health Forum. 2021 Dec 10;2(12):e214104. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.4104. PMID: 35977305; PMCID: PMC8796945.en_US
dc.identifier.eissn2689-0186
dc.identifier.doi10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.4104en_US
dc.identifier.pmid35977305
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/51976
dc.description.abstractImportance: Cost-sharing requirements can discourage patients from seeking care and impose financial hardship. The Medicare program serves many older and disabled individuals with multimorbidity and limited resources, but little has been known about the affordability of care in this population. Objective: To examine the affordability of medical care among Medicare enrollees, in terms of the prevalence of delaying medical care because of costs and having problems paying medical bills, and risk factors for these outcomes. Design setting and participants: Cross-sectional analyses conducted from November 1, 2019, to October 15, 2021, used logistic regression to compare the probability of outcomes by demographic and health characteristics. Data were obtained from the 2017 nationally representative Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (response rate, 61.7%), with respondents representing 53 million community-dwelling Medicare enrollees. Main outcomes and measures: New questions about medical care affordability were included in the 2017 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey: difficulty paying medical bills, ongoing medical debt, and contact by collection agencies. A companion survey question asked whether individuals had delayed seeking medical care because of worries about costs. Results: Respondents included 10 974 adults aged 65 years or older and 2197 aged 18 to 64 years; 54.2% of all respondents were women. The weighted proportions of Medicare enrollees with annual incomes below $25 000K were 30.7% in the older population and 67.4% in the younger group. Self-reported prevalence of delaying care because of cost was 8.3% (95% CI, 7.4%-9.1%) among enrollees aged 65 years or older, 25.2% (95% CI, 21.8%-28.6%) among enrollees younger than 65 years, and 10.9% (95% CI, 9.9%-11.9%) overall. Similarly, 7.4% (95% CI, 6.6%-8.2%) of older enrollees had problems paying medical bills, compared with 29.8% (95% CI, 25.6%-34.1%) among those younger than 65 years and 10.8% (95% CI, 9.8%-11.9%) overall. Regarding specific payment problems, 7.9% (95% CI, 7.0%-8.9%) of enrollees overall experienced ongoing medical debt, contact by a collection agency, or both. In adjusted analyses, older adults with incomes $15 000 to $25 000 per year had odds of delaying care more than twice as high as those with incomes greater than $50 000 (odds ratio, 2.47; 95% CI, 1.82-3.39), and their odds of problems paying medical bills were more than 3 times as high (odds ratio, 3.37; 95% CI, 2.81-5.21). Older adults with 4 to 10 chronic conditions were more than twice as likely to have problems paying medical bills as those with 0 or 1 condition. Conclusions and relevance: The findings of this study suggest that unaffordability of medical care is common among Medicare enrollees, especially those with lower incomes, or worse health, or who qualify for Medicare based on disability. Policy reforms, such as caps on patient spending, are needed to reduce Medical cost burdens on the most vulnerable enrollees.en_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.relation.ispartofJAMA Health Forumen_US
dc.relation.urlhttps://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.4104en_US
dc.rightsOpen Access: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License. © 2021 Madden JM et al. JAMA Health Forum.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectMedicareen_US
dc.subjectaffordabilityen_US
dc.titleAffordability of Medical Care Among Medicare Enrolleesen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
dc.source.journaltitleJAMA health forum
dc.source.volume2
dc.source.issue12
dc.source.beginpagee214104
dc.source.endpage
dc.source.countryUnited States
dc.source.countryUnited States
dc.identifier.journalJAMA health forum
refterms.dateFOA2023-04-25T13:21:09Z
dc.contributor.departmentMedicineen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMeyers Health Care Instituteen_US


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Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License. © 2021 Madden JM et al. JAMA Health Forum.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License. © 2021 Madden JM et al. JAMA Health Forum.