CMS Releases First Results of Preventive Care Initiative

July 6, 2011 – On June 20, CMS released a report showing that more than 5 million Americans with traditional Medicare – or nearly one in six people with Medicare – took advantage of one or more of the recommended preventive benefits now available for free under the Affordable Care Act. (ACA).  The most popular benefits so far have been mammograms, bone density screenings, and screenings for prostate cancer.
 
Over 780,000 beneficiaries received the new Annual Wellness Visit between January 1, 2011and June 10, 2011.  Twenty-six percent more seniors also used the Welcome to Medicare Exam compared to the same time period last year.
 
This push toward prevention is part of the CMS’ fulfillment of its “Three-Part Aim� of better care and better health at a lower cost through improvement in health care.  CMS states that in 2008, “roughly 70 percent of Medicare beneficiaries had at least one chronic condition, while as many as 38 percent had between two and four conditions, and 7 percent had five or more.  Medicare beneficiaries see an average of 14 different doctors and fill an average of 50 prescriptions or prescription refills a year.�
 
CMS believes the new annual wellness visit can begin an ongoing conversation between patients and their doctors on how to prevent disease and disability at no cost to the beneficiary with the intention of reducing chronic conditions in seniors.

Tags: Healthcare Reform