Previously uninsured adults who received Medicare coverage reported improvements in health, especially those with cardiovascular disease or diabetes, according to a study in the December 26 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Uninsured near-elderly adults, particularly those with cardiovascular disease or diabetes, experience worse health outcomes and use more health services as Medicare beneficiaries after age 65 years than insured near-elderly adults. Because chronic diseases are prevalent and insurance coverage is often unaffordable for older uninsured adults, the impact of near-universal Medicare coverage at age 65 years on the health of previously uninsured adults may be substantial,” the authors write.
J. Michael McWilliams, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues assessed the association of acquiring Medicare coverage at age 65 years with trends in self-reported health outcomes from ages 55 through 72 years for previously uninsured adults, especially those with cardiovascular disease or diabetes. The researchers analyzed survey data, collected from 1992 through 2004, from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study, which included 5,006 adults who were continuously insured and 2,227 adults who were persistently or intermittently uninsured from ages 55 to 64. Changes in health trends were compared for previously uninsured and insured adults after they acquired Medicare coverage at age 65 years. The areas of health surveyed included general health, change in general health, mobility, agility, pain, depressive symptoms, and a summary measure of these, along with adverse cardiovascular outcomes.