Consumer responses to the Wisconsin Partnership Program for Elderly Persons: a variation on the PACE Model

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Services Research
• Public Health

Background:

• The Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) is a flexible variation of the Program for All-inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) model.
• WPP allows dual-eligible (Medicare and Medicaid) frail elderly clients to use their regular primary care physicians.
• Case management is provided by a nurse, social worker, and nurse practitioner team.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the functional status and satisfaction of WPP enrollees with dual-eligible controls.
• To evaluate the impact of the WPP model on elderly care.

Main Methods:

• Compared WPP enrollees with two control groups: non-enrollees in the same county and individuals in matched counties without WPP.
• Collected data through in-person interviews with enrollees and telephone interviews with family members.
• Assessed functional status, dependency in activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), unmet needs, and beneficiary satisfaction.

Main Results:

• WPP enrollees showed lower dependency in ADLs and IADLs compared to controls.
• Unmet needs patterns were comparable across groups.
• WPP families reported higher satisfaction with service timeliness and coordination, though overall satisfaction differences were minimal.
• No significant differences in care burden prevalence were observed.

Conclusions:

• The Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) demonstrates a limited overall impact on frail elderly dual-eligible individuals.
• Evidence suggests WPP families perceive improved care coordination.
• Further evaluation is needed, focusing on utilization patterns, to fully assess WPP's impact.