WASHINGTON — With most of Medicare's $336-billion budget devoted to treating the debilitating consequences of chronic illnesses, officials say they want to close a "prevention gap" created by seniors' low use of preventive services.
Medicare has lagged behind employer-financed health plans in recognizing the value of preventing illnesses. But the government program that provides healthcare for 43 million elderly and disabled people is planning to launch a campaign this summer to inform beneficiaries how they can make better use of recently expanded preventive services.
"If you take a big step back and look at Medicare spending, 90%-plus of what we are spending is going for the complications of chronic disease," Medicare Administrator Mark B. McClellan said in an interview. "We can get healthier beneficiaries and a lot lower costs related to complications if we can get more prevention."
The campaign will feature a special effort to reach minorities ages 65 and older -- a group that is among the least likely to get preventive care and suffers higher rates of some chronic illnesses. In addition, the 2007 Medicare handbook will focus on preventive care.
And effective immediately, beneficiaries can find out which regular checkups they may have missed by calling (800) MEDICARE -- (800) 633-4227 -- or by visiting www.medicare.gov/health/overview.asp.
In the last two years, the program has expanded what had been a relatively limited set of preventive benefits by adding a "Welcome to Medicare" physical exam for new enrollees, blood tests for cardiac risk factors such as high cholesterol, diabetes screening and training to help diabetics keep their blood sugar under control.
Some services are free, such as a blood glucose test for signs of diabetes. Others, such as the physical, require patients to pay part of the cost.
But some of the results have been disappointing to Medicare officials. For example, about 2% of eligible seniors have taken advantage of the physical, according to preliminary statistics.
The track record also is uneven for established preventive benefits that were added to the program in earlier years.
For example, only 36% of female beneficiaries get Pap tests and pelvic exams to screen for cervical cancer, although Medicare covers most of the costs of such services.
And 54% of male beneficiaries get prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, blood tests -- prostate cancer screenings that are free.
