Work

Effects of Medicare Coverage of a “Welcome-to-Medicare” Visit on Use of Preventive Services among New Medicare Enrollees

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: In January 2005, Medicare began covering a one-time initial preventive physical examination (IPPE), also called a "Welcome-to-Medicare" visit, during a beneficiary's first 6 months under Part B. This paper examines the effects of offering Medicare IPPE coverage on the use of mammograms, breast self-exams, Pap smears, prostate cancer screenings, cholesterol screenings, and flu vaccines among beneficiaries new to Part B. We adopt a difference-in-difference estimator and estimate a set of multivariate logit models to quantify the effects of introducing Medicare IPPE coverage on the use of preventive services. Models are estimated separately for men and women. Data for the analysis come from the 1996-2008 Health and Retirement Study. Among both men and women, having coverage for a one-time IPPE under Medicare had no effects on the utilization of any of the preventive services listed above. In this study, we find that offering coverage for a one-time IPPE under Medicare was insufficient to spur greater use of preventive services among new Medicare beneficiaries. These findings are important and suggest that policy-makers may need to consider other approaches to increase the use of recommended preventive services.

Source: Journal of Aging Research

DOI: 10.1155/2017/2074810

Authors: Boon Peng Ng, Gail A. Jensen, Heather Fritz

Institutions: Wayne State University, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Health Promotion and Cardiovascular Prevention

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,000