title: Financial vulnerability among Medicare managed care enrollees.
abstract: Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (CAHPS) data show that Medicare managed care plans often receive low satisfaction scores from certain vulnerable populations. This article describes findings from a qualitative study with beneficiaries about their Medicare managed care experiences. Focus groups were stratified by participant race/ethnicity and self-described health status. Yet participants did not describe their concerns in terms of their race, ethnicity, or health condition, but rather their access to financial resources. Our findings suggest that researchers consider how socioeconomics creates health care vulnerability for racial and ethnic minorities, females, people with disabilities, and other economically marginalized persons.
authors.affiliation: Westat. cynthiarobins@westat.com
authors.forename: Cynthia S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Robins
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heller
authors.forename: Mary Anne
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Myers
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States