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Medicare and the disadvantaged elderly: objectives and outcomes
The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly. Health and Society
|January 1, 1984
Summary
Medicare successfully improved healthcare access for disadvantaged seniors by removing barriers. Despite initial evidence gaps, the program achieved its goals, though some access issues and costs persist.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Gerontology
- Public Health Policy
Background:
- Medicare was established to enhance healthcare access for elderly individuals.
- Legislative goals were informed by anecdotal evidence of hardship and limited data.
- The program sought to overcome financial, attitudinal, and distributional obstacles to care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the success of the Medicare program in improving healthcare access for disadvantaged elderly populations.
- To assess the extent to which identified barriers to care were overcome.
- To identify any persistent access challenges and unintended consequences.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Medicare program data and outcomes.
- Quantitative assessment of healthcare access metrics for the elderly.
- Review of legislative intent against program performance.
Main Results:
- The Medicare program has been largely successful in improving healthcare access for the elderly.
- Distributional, attitudinal, and financial barriers have been substantially reduced.
- Some challenges in healthcare access and significant cost-related side effects remain.
Conclusions:
- Medicare has largely fulfilled its primary objective of enhancing healthcare access for vulnerable seniors.
- Ongoing evaluation is necessary to address remaining access issues and manage program costs.
- The program's impact underscores the importance of policy interventions in healthcare equity.