Medicare beneficiaries do not have to pay for screening colonoscopies but must pay coinsurance if a polyp is removed via polypectomy. Likewise, beneficiaries do not have to pay for fecal occult blood tests but are liable for cost-sharing for diagnostic colonoscopies after a positive test. Legislative and regulatory requirements related to colorectal cancer screening are described, and on the ba...

Administrative data were used to compare lengths of stay, Medicare payment, total and average daily costs, discharge destinations, rehospitalizations, and emergency room (ER) use of dually eligible and non-dually eligible Medicare inpatients admitted for a psychiatric diagnosis. Regressions controlled for State buy-in coverage as a proxy for dual eligibility, hospital type, and beneficiary soci...

Anecdotal evidence suggests that involving beneficiaries in charity decision-making ensures better governance processes. This paper provides the first experimental test of effects beneficiaries’ participation decision how to spend a charity's funds. We consider four different mechanisms for choosing funds destination: delegating group leader, deciding through public discussion, voting (one-head...

Introduction While the prevalence of hunger decreased globally, it has risen in sub-Saharan Africa recent years mainly due to rapid population growth, low agricultural productivity, and economic downturns. This study was conducted examine food security determinants at household levels among beneficiaries non-beneficiaries rice farmers Kano river irrigation project Nigeria. Methods Cross-section...

We examined persistence in seven common preventive health practices for a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries over 4-year observation periods. Six panels from the 19972005 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) were used resulting in 13,913 unique individuals with ages ranging from below 65 (disabled) to over 80 years old. Persistence in behavior was defined as the pr...

INTRODUCTION Medicare beneficiaries who have chronic conditions are responsible for a disproportionate share of Medicare fee-for-service expenditures. The objective of this study was to analyze the change in the health of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part A (hospital insurance) between 2008 and 2010 by comparing the prevalence of 11 chronic conditions. METHODS We conducted descriptive a...

BACKGROUND In January 2006, the Korean government implemented a copayment waiver policy for hospitalized children under the age of 6 years to reduce the economic burden on patients. This policy was implemented from 2006 to 2007 in Korea and involved hospitalized children under the age of 6 years. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effect of the copayment waiver policy on health insurance...

OBJECTIVES To examine concerns that vulnerable populations, such as depressed or cognitively impaired beneficiaries would have challenges accessing Part D coverage. DESIGN Logistic regression analysis was used to assess whether elderly Medicare beneficiaries with depression or cognitive impairment differentially planned to and actually signed up for Part D. SETTING 2004 and 2006 data from t...

OBJECTIVES Individuals with multiple (>2) chronic conditions (MCC) present many challenges to the health care system, such as effective coordination of care and cost containment. To assist health policy makers and to fill research gaps on MCC, we describe state-level variation of MCC among Medicare beneficiaries, with a focus on those with six or more conditions. METHODS Using Centers for Med...