Use of clinical preventive services by Medicare beneficiaries aged > or = 65 years--United States, 1995.
Delivery of clinical preventive services to older adults can reduce premature morbidity and mortality while preserving function and enhancing overall quality of life . Until recently, the use of such services has been low among older adults because Medicare coverage has not been extended to many preventive services (3). Medicare coverage now includes four clinical preventive services: a single lifetime pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination (vaccine plus any required revaccination and administration) (since 1981); annual influenza vaccination (vaccine and administration) (since 1993); and forwomen, biennial mammography screening (since 1991) and Papanicolaou smear screening every 36 months (since 1990). To assess current state-specific levels of use of these services among Medicare beneficiaries, CDC and the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) analyzed data from the 1995 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). This report summarizes the findings of this analysis, which indicate that, despite Medicare coverage of these preventive services, many U.S. adults aged > or = 65 years did not receive such services in 1995, and state-specific use of these services varied substantially.
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006278:Medicare; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data