Stat Tracker

Medicare Used More Often by the Previously Uninsured

Americans who previously had no health insurance incur expensive medical bills once they are old enough to be covered by Medicare, researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Uninsured people put off the care they need, making it more expensive to treat them once Medicare is available to pay, said J. Michael McWilliams, Ph.D., a research associate in the Harvard Medical School department of Healthcare Policy and lead author of the report.

Those people continue costing more for the first 8 years they are in the program, Dr. McWilliams and colleagues reported. "The implication is that expanding (Medicare) coverage to uninsured near-elderly adults may not cost as much as previously thought," Dr. McWilliams said.

The study compared Medicare expenses for 1,385 people without health insurance and 3,773 who had private insurance coverage. The uninsured with heart disease, diabetes, stroke or high blood pressure had costs on average 51% higher than the insured people who had been diagnosed with those ailments before age 65.

Those uninsured before getting Medicare reported 13% more doctor visits and 20% more hospitalizations.

However, the report stated that among adults without these conditions, adjusted health care use and expenditures after age 65 did not differ significantly between previously insured and uninsured adults.

"This study highlights the importance of health insurance coverage for all Americans to improve the efficiency of our healthcare system, as well as the quality of our healthcare and health outcomes," said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis.

"Despite spending more than any other country on health care, the United States does not do as well on quality, health outcomes, equity or access to care, due to our fragmented healthcare system," added Davis, whose group paid for the study.

About these data: The report, commissioned by the Commonwealth Fund, used data from various government agencies, including CMS, the Census Bureau and CDC to rank all 50 states and Washington, D.C., on 32 measures of cost, insurance coverage and quality of care.

All Eyes Should be Focused on Children

A survey by Vision Service Plan (VSP) Vision Care, reveals that more than half of American adults failed to get an eye exam in the past 12 months. Adults aren't the only ones skipping eye doctor visits — according to VSP, 65% of children nationwide have not had an eye exam in the last 12 months.

"Healthy vision plays an essential role in a child's success in school and at play," said Dan Mannen, O.D., VSP Board Chair. "Often, poor grades or behavior problems are attributed to vision impairment. Eye exams can help to diagnose vision problems and provide kids with the correction they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond."

► One in 5 children under the age of six needs prescription eyewear on their first visit to an eye doctor. By ages 12 to 17, almost half of U.S. children need prescription eyewear.
► Upwards of half of children spend 4+ hours a day in activities that can lead to computer vision syndrome (CVS).
► More children nationwide (70%) have had dental exams than have ever had a complete eye exam (48%).
► Four in 10 U.S. adults and less than half of children nationwide have eyecare/vision coverage.

Parents would feel most comfortable taking their children to an eye exam at the following:
► corporate eye care chain 14%
► within a department store 2%
► mass merchandiser 7%
► Kaiser (HMO) or similar 2%
► private O.D. or M.D. 76% OM

About these data: The survey was conducted by VSP Vision Care to measure prevalence data related to vision insurance and consumer eyecare patterns for children and adults. VSP Vision Care provides comprehensive eyecare benefit plans to 51 million members nationwide. VSP's Sight for Students program has helped more than 400,000 low-income/uninsured children receive free eyecare services since its inception in 1997. For more information, visit VSP online at vsp.com.