Medicare and Medicaid users speak out about their health care: the real, the ideal, and how to get there.

Abstract

To inform the design of an integrated health and social service program that will better coordinate care for individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, a qualitative study was conducted using 13 focus groups. Participants consisted of a purposeful sample of dually eligible individuals (1) aged 65+ years (8 focus groups: N=71), and (2) aged 18-64 years with disabilities (5 focus groups: N=45), recruited in collaboration with the Connecticut Legislature's Medical Assistance Program Oversight Council and numerous community-based agencies across the state. Older adult participants included nursing home residents, community-dwelling healthy individuals and individuals with chronic illness or disability, family members of individuals with chronic illness or disability, and 1 community-dwelling group of Spanish-speakers. Younger adult participants included persons with physical, intellectual/developmental, and/or mental health disabilities, and parents, case managers, nurses, and residential managers of persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Through the constant comparative method, results clustered in 4 domains: current experiences, care coordination, consumer protection, and elements of an ideal health care program. Significant findings include difficulty finding providers who accept Medicare/Medicaid, medication management, age and racial/ethnic discrimination, and care coordination. Findings highlight the policy implications of designing a person-centered, coordinated dual coverage system. Desired elements of an ideal system include greater choice in providers of all types, including culturally competent medical and home care providers, increased coordination among medical providers and between medical and home care/social service providers, and a prominent role for pharmacists in counseling participants and in serving as part of care coordination teams. (Population Health Management 2015;18:123-130).