Lower Rates of Medicare Preventive Care Visits Found in Racial, Ethnic Minority Older Adults

A study published in Medical Care found Medicare beneficiaries nationwide have low rates of preventive care visits, with older adults of minority race/ethnicity having the lowest rates of all, reports News-Medical . Researchers examined data on nearly 15,000 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, 66 or older, participating in the nationally representative Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey from 2011 to 2013. Use of the Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) was low, with only 8.1 percent of Medicare beneficiaries using it in 2011. In that year, the rate was highest for white people and lowest in black people, while by 2013 the overall rate of AWV use rose to 13.4 percent. The greatest increase was seen in black people, whose rate of use nearly tripled to 15.4 percent. Generally, AWV use was lower in racial/ethnic minority groups versus white people. Following adjustment for income and education, racial/ethnic group was no longer a statistically significant factor. AWV use was lower for beneficiaries in rural areas and higher for those who had a usual place for healthcare, apart from the emergency room. "While the Medicare AWV may help to reduce racial/ethnic health disparities, efforts will be needed to increase its use — not only by minority patients, but for the entire Medicare population," says Kimberly E. Lind with the University of Colorado. "Education and income inequality by race and ethnicity have been a historical constant and remain a problem."