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Women and Medicare: Making the Connection
This briefing examines Medicare s role in meeting older women’s health needs, the gaps in Medicare’s benefits package for women, and the emerging debate over prescription drug coverage and Medicare reform.
Medicare is a critical source of health insurance coverage for virtually all older women in the U.S. and for many younger women who have permanent disabilities. Today, 22 million women one in five adult women rely on Medicare for basic health insurance protection. In fact, women comprise 57% of the Medicare population. Medicare helps to make health care more affordable for older women at a time in their lives when they are most likely to have multiple health problems that require ongoing and often costly medical treatment. This document, , profiles women who rely on Medicare, using the most current data available. It addresses the health needs and financial security concerns of women on Medicare. It highlights gaps in coverage, such as prescription drugs and long-term care, and presents public opinion data on women’s support for Medicare reform.
Summary Report
This report, : Summary Report, produced jointly by the bipartisan team of Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies and Geoff Garin of Peter D. Hart Research Associates, presents key findings from a series of eight focus groups on the Medicare program and the current debate over prescription drug coverage and Medicare reform. These groups, conducted in four cities with both elderly and non-elderly participants in June 2001, explored attitudes about Medicare and how it might be improved. Special emphasis was devoted to the ongoing debate over the addition of a Medicare prescription drug benefit.
A new policy brief provides a description of the Section 1115 law, its history, and an overview of how it plays a role in the restructuring of Medicaid and SCHIP.
Medicare is a critical source of health insurance coverage for virtually all older women in the U.S. and for many younger women who have permanent disabilities. Because women have longer life expectancies than men, more than half (57%) of the people covered by the program are women. In 1999, there were 21 million women on Medicare 19 million ages 65 and over and another 2 million women under age 65 with disabilities who received Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. This fact sheet highlights the health needs and financial security concerns of women on Medicare. Prescription drug coverage, supplemental insurance, and out-of-pocket costs are highlighted as key issues for women.
The fourth in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the first year of S-CHIP finds that states have been able to enter arrangements with plans for their S-CHIP population fairly easily.
This policy brief details the eligibility and benefit structure of Medicaid showing what portions of enrollment and spending are mandatory or optional.
Link to Retructuring Medicaid Financing: Implications of the NGA Proposal
An analysis of the National Governors Association proposal to restructure Medicaid, including the financial impact of the core of the proposal. The report considers possible responses to the reforms and outlines some issues to consider as policymakers think about reforming the program.
Link to “Medicaid Mandatory and Optional Eligibility and Benefits”
A fact sheet summarizing Medicaid spending and enrollment trends in Georgia and Rhode Island drawn from a briefing in February 2001.