The study sample of 599 individuals aged 65+ was randomly selected from 17,940 members enrolled in United Health Plan of New England SeniorCare Program. The purpose of this study was to describe subject’s self-reported oral and general health status, the scope of their medical and dental insurance, and what type of insurance coverage they felt was most desirable. The response rate for the survey was 41%. Fifty three percent of respondents were female, 78% were Caucasian, 64% had high school education or less and 70% of respondents had an annual income less than $25,000. Overall the respondents considered themselves to be in good general health, since 95% reported their health as good or better. Only 5% reported their health as poor. Subjects were less optimistic about their oral health status; 10% reported poor and 27% reported fair health of teeth and gums, with only 56% rating their oral health as good or better. Respondents also rated their opinions about the importance of various types of health care coverage on a five point Likert scale that ranged from "not important" to "very important". The subjects' ratings in descending order of the rank of "very important" were hospital coverage (91%), pharmacy (77%), and dental coverage (60%). For most other types of benefits the category "very important" received a response of less than 50%. In conclusion, this sample reported suboptimal oral health and ranked dental as a very important insurance benefit, suggesting that dental coverage would be a benefical addition to senior insurance plans.
Learning Objectives: The abstarct will discuss: (1) The attitudes of a group of Medicare recipients, enrolled in an HMO Medicare Plan that offers optional dental and pharmacy benefits, regarding their health status and insurance coverage. (2) A survey instrument to assess the members: socio-demographic characteristics, overall systemic health, and oral health. (3)An anlysis of Medicare recipients' preferences in health insurance coverage including dental, pharmacy, chiropractic, hearing aid services, mental health coverage, Long term care coverage, home health coverage and optometry coverage. (4) Analysis assessing the mix of benefits and coverages that planners should take into consideration in designing health programs for the Medicare population
Keywords: Oral Health, Health Insurance
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Medicare recipients surveyed were members of the United Health Plan of Rhode Island SeniorCare program which is a Medicare risk contract that includes medical and supplemental services
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.