Supplemental Insurance for Community Aged and Disabled Beneficiaries: 1999.

Introduction

The Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey is a powerful tool for analyzing the Medicare population. Based on a stratified random sample of about 16,000 beneficiaries, the Access to Care File provides detailed information on types of supplemental insurance held by Medicare beneficiaries. The insurance counts are a point in time estimate based on interviews conducted with community-dwelling beneficiaries in fall 1999. Beneficiaries' insurance policies and drug coverage status are self-reported.

Over 10 million beneficiaries residing in the community had an employer-sponsored supplemental insurance plan in 1999 (Figure 1). Of those, nearly 8 1/2 million had plans that covered prescription drugs.

Figure 1

Community Beneficiaries With and Without Self-Reported Drug Coverage, by Supplemental Insurance Type: 1999

While nearly 8 million beneficiaries had a medigap plan, only about 2 million of those beneficiaries had drug coverage.

Over 6 million beneficiaries belonged to a Medicare risk health maintenance organization (HMO) and over 90 percent of those beneficiaries reported having drug coverage.

In contrast to the Medicare population as a whole, over one-third of the disabled population receives Medicaid assistance and nearly one-quarter have no supplemental insurance (Figure 2). Less than 10 percent of the disabled are in a Medicare risk HMO and only 5 percent have a medigap plan.

Figure 2

Percent of Beneficiaries, by Type of Insurance and Eligibility Status: 1999

Employer-sponsored supplemental plans are held by a large percentage of the aged population as are medigap plans. Nearly 20 percent of the aged belong to a Medicare risk HMO

While roughly the same percentage of disabled and aged beneficiaries have drug coverage they receive their coverage through different sources (Figure 3).

Figure 3

Source of Drug Coverage for Community Beneficiaries, by Insurance Type and Eligibility Status: 1999

Nearly one-half of the drug coverage for disabled beneficiaries is provided through the Medicaid program.

Aged beneficiaries receive their drug benefits primarily through employer-sponsored plans and Medicare risk HMOs.