MCBS Highlights: Comparison of Medicare Risk HMO and FFS Enrollees

Survey (MCBS) is a powerful tool for analyzing the Medicare population. Using MCBS data from the 2000 Access to Care File, differences in the composition of the population enrolled in Medicare risk HMOs and of those in the same geographic areas who remained in fee-for-service (FFS) were examined. The results show that differences in the population reflect different rates of managed care enrollment among social, economic, and demographic groups of Medicare beneficiaries. In calendar year 2000, two-thirds of Medicare enrollees lived in a geographic area served by at least one risk health maintenance organization (HMO) (Figure 1). One-quarter of those people—or 17 percent of all enrollees—were enrolled in a risk HMO during the year, and the other three-quarters remained in the Medicare FFS Program. The MCBS is a continuous survey of a nationally representative sample of Medicare enrollees. Survey respondents are interviewed three times each year for 3 years, plus an opening and closing interview. Information is collected from them about social, economic, and demographic life factors, as well as use of health care services and financing of those services. This survey information is combined with administrative data on use of and payment for medical care through the Medicare Program. For additional information about the MCBS, visit our Web site at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcbs.