Perspective               

Women Report High Chronic Healthcare Needs

Over 80% of women between the ages of 65 and 85 report at least one chronic disease such as diabetes, arthritis, or hypertension. More than half of older women report more than one chronic condition, and one in four older women report three or more chronic conditions, according to a new study by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Even if you do not have more than one chronic condition, it is always important to talk to your doctor and make sure she knows about all of your health problems and all of the medications you are taking. For people with more than one chronic condition who may see many different specialists, it is especially important to keep your doctors informed when your treatment changes.

In a perfect world, Medicare HMOs would help people with chronic conditions coordinate the care they receive from different doctors. Unfortunately, it is impossible for people on Medicare who have chronic conditions to know which HMOs coordinate care well and which do not. This is because Medicare HMOs refuse to tell people how they care for costly diseases. So you may not find out what kind of care you will get until you are already enrolled in the HMO.

The truth is, quality matters. And quality varies between Medicare plans. As each doctor is different, each plan is different, with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. But, because there is still so little information available about the care different HMOs deliver, nobody knows for sure which HMO gives better quality health care to people with chronic conditions; at this moment, no one can say.

Congress, realizing that people should be able to make health care decisions based on

quality, is beginning to require HCFA, the government agency that runs Medicare, to

release some quality information about Medicare HMOs. This information is now available on HCFA’s national Medicare website (www.medicare.gov).

Putting this information on the Internet is a good first step, but the information is still far from complete. It does not tell us which HMO is best for which person. And it does not

compare the quality of care received in Original Medicare with the quality of care received in a Medicare HMO.

If you are on Medicare and want more information about your health insurance options, call your State Health Insurance and Assistance Program, or SHIP. The number is listed in the back of the Medicare & You which was sent to people on Medicare. You can also get a copy by calling 1-800-MEDICARE. Or call your Senator or Congressperson. They should have staff who can help you.

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