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Fitness memberships and favorable selection in Medicare Advantage plans.

ABSTRACT: Because Medicare Advantage plans must pay for covered services, they may design insurance benefits to appeal to healthier beneficiaries.We identified 11 Medicare Advantage plans that offered new fitness-membership benefits in 2004 or 2005 and matched these plans to 11 Medicare Advantage control plans that did not offer coverage for fitness memberships. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we compared the self-reported health status of persons who enrolled after the fitness benefit was added to the plan with the self-reported health status of persons entering the same plan before the fitness benefit was offered.The proportion of enrollees reporting excellent or very good health was 6.1 percentage points higher (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.6 to 9.7) among the 755 new enrollees in plans that added fitness benefits than among the 4097 earlier enrollees. The proportion of new enrollees reporting activity limitation was 10.4 percentage points lower (95% CI, 6.6 to 14.3) and the proportion reporting difficulty walking was 8.1 percentage points lower (95% CI, 4.4 to 11.7), as compared with earlier enrollees. Within control plans, the differences between the 1154 new enrollees and the 3910 earlier enrollees were 1.5 percentage points or less for each measure. The adjusted differences between the fitness-benefit plans and the control plans were 4.7 percentage points higher for general health (95% CI, 0.2 to 9.2), 9.2 percentage points lower for activity limitation (95% CI, 5.1 to 13.3), and 7.4 percentage points lower for difficulty walking (95% CI, 4.5 to 10.4). These differences persisted at 2 years for activity limitation and difficulty walking.Medicare Advantage plans offering coverage for fitness memberships may attract and retain a healthier subgroup of the Medicare population. (Funded by the National Institute on Aging.).

SUBMITTER: Cooper AL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3341413 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Fitness memberships and favorable selection in Medicare Advantage plans.

Cooper Alicia L AL Trivedi Amal N AN

The New England journal of medicine 20120101 2

<h4>Background</h4>Because Medicare Advantage plans must pay for covered services, they may design insurance benefits to appeal to healthier beneficiaries.<h4>Methods</h4>We identified 11 Medicare Advantage plans that offered new fitness-membership benefits in 2004 or 2005 and matched these plans to 11 Medicare Advantage control plans that did not offer coverage for fitness memberships. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we compared the self-reported health status of persons who enrolle ...[more]

PMID: 22236225

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Project description:BackgroundDifferences in the control of blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose among the various racial and ethnic groups of Medicare enrollees may contribute to persistent disparities in health outcomes.MethodsAmong elderly enrollees in Medicare Advantage health plans in 2011 who had hypertension (94,171 persons), cardiovascular disease (112,039), or diabetes (105,848), we compared the respective age-and-sex-adjusted proportions with blood pressure lower than 140/90 mm Hg, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels below 100 mg per deciliter (2.6 mmol per liter), and a glycated hemoglobin value of 9.0% or lower, according to race or ethnic group. Comparisons were made nationally and within regions and health plans, and changes since 2006 were assessed.ResultsBlack enrollees in 2006 and 2011 were substantially less likely than white enrollees to have adequate control of blood pressure (adjusted absolute differences in proportions of enrollees in the 2 years, 7.9 percentage points and 10.3 percentage points, respectively), cholesterol (11.4 percentage points and 10.2 percentage points, respectively), and glycated hemoglobin (10.1 percentage points and 9.4 percentage points, respectively) (P<0.001 for all comparisons). Differing distributions of enrollees among health plans accounted for 39 to 59% of observed disparities in 2011. These differences persisted in 2011 in the Northeast, Midwest, and South (6.9 to 14.1 percentage points, P<0.001 for all comparisons) but were eliminated in the West for all three measures (<1.5 percentage points, P≥0.15). Hispanic enrollees were less likely than whites in 2011 to have adequate control of blood pressure (adjusted difference, 1.6 percentage points), cholesterol (adjusted difference, 1.0 percentage points), and glycated hemoglobin (adjusted difference, 3.4 percentage points) (P≤0.02 for all comparisons). Asians and Pacific Islanders were more likely than whites to have adequate control of blood pressure (difference, 4.4 percentage points; P<0.001) and cholesterol (5.5 percentage points, P<0.001) and had similar control of glycated hemoglobin (0.3 percentage points, P=0.63).ConclusionsDisparities in control of blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose have not improved nationally for blacks in Medicare Advantage plans, but these disparities were eliminated in the West in 2011. (Funded by the National Institute on Aging.).

Project description:BackgroundSince 2005, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has required all Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to report prescribing rates of high risk medications (HRM).ObjectiveTo determine predictors of receipt of HRMs, as defined by the National Committee for Quality Assurance's "Drugs to Avoid in the Elderly" quality indicator, in a national sample of MA enrollees.Design and participantsRetrospective analysis of Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) data for 6,204,824 enrollees, aged 65 years or older, enrolled in 415 MA plans in 2009. To identify predictors of HRM use, we fit generalized linear models and modeled outcomes on the risk-difference scale.Main outcome measuresReceipt or non-receipt of one or two HRMs.Key resultsApproximately 21 % of MA enrollees received at least one HRM and 4.8 % received at least two. In fully adjusted models, females had a 10.6 (95 % CI: 10.0-11.2) higher percentage point rate of receipt than males, and residence in any of the Southern United States divisions was associated with a greater than 10 percentage point higher rate, as compared with the reference New England division. Higher rates were also observed among enrollees with low personal income (6.5 percentage points, 95 % CI: 5.5-7.5), relative to those without low income and those residing in areas in the lowest quintile of socioeconomic status (2.7 points, 95 % CI: 1.9-3.4) relative to persons residing in the highest quintile. Enrollees ? 85 years old, black enrollees, and other minority groups were less likely to receive these medications. Over 38 % of MA enrollees residing in the hospital referral region of Albany, Georgia received at least one HRM, a rate four times higher than the referral region with the lowest rate (Mason City, Iowa).ConclusionsUse of HRMs among MA enrollees varies widely by geographic region. Persons living in the Southern region of the U.S., whites, women, and persons of low personal income and socioeconomic status are more likely to receive HRMs.

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Fitness memberships and favorable selection in Medicare Advantage plans.

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Fitness memberships and favorable selection in Medicare Advantage plans.

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