Would Insuring Near-Elderly Persons Reduce Medicare Spending in Patients Aged 65 Years or Older?
Authors: Daniel Polsky, Sandra L. Decker
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Letters6 April 2010Would Insuring Near-Elderly Persons Reduce Medicare Spending in Patients Aged 65 Years or Older?Daniel Polsky, PhD and Sandra L. Decker, PhDDaniel Polsky, PhDFrom University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, and National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD 20782.Search for more papers by this author and Sandra L. Decker, PhDFrom University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, and National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD 20782.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-152-7-201004060-00021 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:McWilliams and colleagues (1) find that Medicare spending is higher for previously uninsured persons and suggest that nearly half of the cost of expanding health insurance coverage to uninsured near-elderly adults might be offset by reduced spending in patients aged 65 years or older. We do not believe their research supports the notion of cost savings from insuring the uninsured, because a large proportion of higher Medicare expenditures observed for the previously uninsured cannot be avoided by insuring people earlier. As Bhattacharya points out (2), this may be particularly true if poor health caused them to be ...References1. McWilliams JM, Meara E, Zaslavsky AM, Ayanian JZ. Medicare spending for previously uninsured adults. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151:757-66. [PMID: 19949141] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Bhattacharya J. Insuring the near-elderly: how much would Medicare save? [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151:816-7. [PMID: 19949148] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Riley GF. Health insurance and access to care among Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries during the Medicare waiting period. Inquiry. 2006;43:222-30. [PMID: 17176966] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, and National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD 20782.Disclaimer: The views expressed in this letter reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoMedicare Spending for Previously Uninsured Adults J. Michael McWilliams , Ellen Meara , Alan M. Zaslavsky , and John Z. Ayanian Insuring the Near-Elderly: How Much Would Medicare Save? Jay Bhattacharya Would Insuring Near-Elderly Persons Reduce Medicare Spending in Patients Age 65 Years or Older? J. Michael McWilliams , Ellen Meara , and John Z. Ayanian Metrics Cited byHEALTH SERVICE USE AMONG THE PREVIOUSLY UNINSURED: IS SUBSIDIZED HEALTH INSURANCE ENOUGH? 6 April 2010Volume 152, Issue 7Page: 476-477KeywordsConflicts of interestHealth insuranceMedical servicesMedicareMotivation ePublished: 6 April 2010 Issue Published: 6 April 2010 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...