Overview

Central to the debate on Medicare's future are the health care needs of the millions of elderly and disabled Americans who depend on the program for basic health insurance coverage. As the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare considers Medicare's role into the next century, a key challenge will be how to maintain or improve access to health care in the event of illness. Today, Medicare insures 34 million elderly Americans as well as 5 million permanently disabled beneficiaries under age 65. This population is generally at high risk for acute and chronic illness and has diverse health care needs and experiences.

To profile beneficiaries' experiences getting health care, examine their exposure to financial burden, and analyze how their experiences vary by income level, health status, and insurance coverage, The Commonwealth Fund and The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation jointly supported the Kaiser/Commonwealth 1997 Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries. The survey, which included telephone interviews with 3,300 non-institutionalized Medicare enrollees, was conducted by Louis Harris and Associates, Inc., from November 1996 through June 1997. Beneficiaries reported on their health care access and costs, their supplemental insurance coverage, and their decision of whether to join a Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO).

The survey's findings underscore the diversity of the Medicare population and point to the challenge of improving protections for the relatively large share of beneficiaries with low incomes and/or health problems.

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