Medicare beneficiaries covered by Medicaid buy-in agreements

About 13 percent of Medicare beneficiaries receive some assistance from Medicaid. States "buy in" Medicare coverage for these low-income beneficiaries. For those eligible, states also provide benefits beyond those covered by Medicare. Buy-in beneficiaries are different from other Medicare beneficiaries in many ways. They have lower incomes, which is consistent with the policy intent. They use more health services in general but do not appear to receive timely, appropriate care relative to several disease-specific standards. As policymakers consider restructuring Medicare and Medicaid, careful attention needs to be paid to the effects of changes on these beneficiaries.