Meeting enrollees' needs: how do Medicare and employer coverage stack up?
One key issue in health reform concerns the relative roles of coverage offered through private insurance and public programs. This paper compares the experiences of aged Medicare beneficiaries with those of people under age sixty-five who have private employer coverage. Compared with the employer-coverage group, people in the Medicare group report fewer problems obtaining medical care, less financial hardship due to medical bills, and higher overall satisfaction with their coverage. Although access and bill payment problems increased across the board from 2001 to 2007, the gap between Medicare and private employer coverage widened.
Commonwealth Fund, New York City, NY, USA. kd@cmwf.org
Karen
K
Davis
Stuart
S
Guterman
Michelle M
MM
Doty
Kristof M
KM
Stremikis
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult