Estimating financial and health burden by initial Medicare plan choice and history of cancer.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the downstream consequences of initial Medicare plan selection is necessary to ensure access to and affordability of health care services, especially for older adults with serious illness. We used 2008-2020 data from the Health and Retirement Study to estimate financial and health burden by initial Medicare plan selection (traditional Medicare without supplemental coverage, traditional Medicare plus supplemental coverage, or Medicare Advantage) and self-reported history of cancer. Initially choosing benefits with greater financial protections (either traditional Medicare plus supplemental coverage or Medicare Advantage) relative to traditional Medicare without supplemental coverage was associated with lower levels of out-of-pocket spending and a lower likelihood of reporting

SUBMITTER: Jazowski SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11747364 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature