Services Not Covered by Medicare: Unmet Beneficiary Needs and Potential Policy Reforms

This project’s first aim is to inform the policy discussion surrounding the long-term services and supports (LTSS) needs of an aging, high-need population. The team will analyze: 1) trends in unmet LTSS need; 2) time to nursing home placement attributable to unmet LTSS need; and 3) the role of caregiver factors in unmet needs for care recipients. The project’s second aim is to inform Medicare Advantage (MA) plan decisions around the targeting of supplemental benefits by plans and benefit expansion proposals under traditional Medicare. The team will: 1) perform a review of the literature to document the effects of poor oral health, hearing loss, and vision loss on general health; 2) identify high-risk beneficiaries who would benefit from dental, vision, or hearing care; and 3) analyze adverse selection by MA plans that offer dental, vision, and hearing supplemental benefits.