Perspective               

Mixed Review of Medicare Preventive Care Services

A recent General Accounting Office report gave mixed news about the use of Medicare-covered preventive services by Medicare consumers. The Medicare program currently covers eight types of preventive services:

While overall use of these services in recent years has increased by over 10 percent, some are still severely underutilized. Colorectal screening rates, which are used to detect colon cancer, were the lowest with only 40 percent of people receiving a recommended colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy within the last 5 years and 25 percent receiving recommended fecal occult blood tests within the past year. Another big problem is that very few individuals receive several different preventive services a year, though they are medically necessary and covered by Medicare. For example, while 91 percent of women with Medicare receive at least one preventive service, only 10 percent were screened for cervical, breast, and colon cancer, and immunized against both flu and pneumonia.

The study also found that African Americans and Hispanics take advantage of Medicare covered preventive services far less often than white people. While 57 percent of whites and 54 percent of other ethnic groups had received pneumonia shots, only 37 percent of African Americans and Hispanics had received the shot.

The best way the Medicare program can tackle this problem and boost usage of these valuable services is by funding outreach programs that will educate both consumers and providers about these benefits. These outreaches should be in the form of pamphlets, classes, and community events that provide information about the specifics of receiving Medicare coverage of certain types of preventive care. Medicare carriers should also issue notices reminding doctors and patients about these benefits and the importance of taking advantage of them.

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