Chronic Care Management and Mortality Among Diabetic Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions

In 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services started reimbursing chronic care management (CCM) services for patients with multiple chronic conditions. This study used 2015-2020 Medicare claims data from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin and conducted a retrospective cohort study of 885,132 beneficiaries with an evaluation and management visit, following a diabetes diagnosis with other co-occurring chronic conditions. A competing-risk model was estimated to analyze factors associated with patients' receipt of their first CCM services and a Cox proportional hazard model was estimated to assess the risk of death post-CCM initiation. Diabetic patients with multiple chronic conditions had mean age of 70 years (SD = 10.3), 50.7% were female, and 81.3% were white. 1.0% (9,075 beneficiaries) had CCM claims. Excluding chronic conditions, variables associated with a higher likelihood of CCM initiation included age (sub-distribution hazard ratios [SHR] = 1.003 for each additional year, 95% CI:1.00-1.01), female (SHR = 1.10, 95%CI:1.05-1.15), Black (SHR = 1.27, 95% CI:1.19-1.36) or Hispanic (SHR = 1.40, 95% CI:1.23-1.58), receiving care at home (SHR = 5.00, 95% CI:4.55-5.51) or skilled nursing facilities (SHR = 1.60, 95% CI:1.48-1.73), being a non-Iowa resident, and getting a diabetes diagnosis post-2015. However, patients in non-urban areas were less likely to receive such services. No statistical difference was found in the likelihood of mortality with CCM initiation vs. non-CCM. After accounting for CCM initiation, variables associated with a higher likelihood of death included age, American Indian/Alaska Native, residing in non-urban areas, getting a diabetes diagnosis in 2020, and receiving care in non-outpatient settings. CCM remains largely underutilized among Medicare beneficiaries. Addressing barriers, including improving access in non-urban areas and managing chronic condition earlier, may enhance adoption and decrease the risk of death for patients with multimorbidity.