Data on Managed Care Reported by Researchers at University of Michigan (Racial/ethnic Disparities In Cost-related Barriers To Care Among Near-poor Beneficiaries In Medicare Advantage Vs Traditional Medicare): Managed Care

2024 DEC 03 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Investigators discuss new findings in Managed Care. According to news reporting originating in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “To compare racial and ethnic disparities in cost-related medical care and dental care barriers and use of vision care among near-poor Medicare beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage (MA) vs traditional Medicare ™ overall and stratified by supplemental insurance enrollment. Cross-sectional analysis of 2015-2019 data from the nationally representative Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey.”

Financial support for this research came from National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health.

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Michigan, “Propensity score-weighted difference-in-disparities analyses comparing Black-White and Hispanic- White disparities in MAvs TM among near-poor Medicare beneficiaries with incomes between 101% and 250% of the federal poverty level. We assessed differences in cost- related medical care barriers and cost-related dental care barriers as well as receipt of annual eye exams in MA vs TM. For cost-related barriers to medical care, Hispanic-White disparities were narrower by 8.8 (95% CI, -14.0 to -3.6) percentage points in MA relative to TM but differences in Black-White disparities were not statistically significant. MA was not associated with narrower differences in Hispanic-White or Black-White disparities in dental care access. Higher proportions of Black and Hispanic beneficiaries in MA received an annual eye exam vs White beneficiaries in both MA and TM. MA was associated with narrower racial disparities primarily compared with TM without supplemental insurance. Among near-poor Black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries, MA was associated with greater use of vision care and narrowing of some disparities in cost-related access barriers vs TM. However, MA did not uniformly narrow racial/ethnic disparities in access and use.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “These findings highlight the importance of maintaining and enhancing features of Medicare coverage that may promote equitable access to care, including additional benefits and lower cost sharing.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Racial/ethnic Disparities In Cost-related Barriers To Care Among Near-poor Beneficiaries In Medicare Advantage Vs Traditional Medicare. The American Journal of Managed Care, 2024;30(10). The American Journal of Managed Care can be contacted at: Managed Care & Healthcare Communications Llc, 666 Plainsboro Rd, Ste 300, Plainsboro, NJ 08536, USA.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Renuka Tipirneni, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States. Additional authors for this research include John Z. Ayanian, Jeffrey T. Kullgren, Erica Solway, Galen E. Switzer and Eric T. Roberts.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.37765/ajmc.2024.89622. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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