Black, Latino Medicare patients experiencing more difficulties with daily living
These beneficiaries are also more likely to lack important resources available to manage their care, data shows.
Photo: Marko Geber/Getty Images
Black and/or Latino Medicare beneficiaries are more likely than white beneficiaries to report difficulty managing activities of daily living (ADLs), according to a databook released by ATI Advisory with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Activities of daily living include dressing, bathing, walking across the room, transferring in and out of a bed or chair, using the toilet and eating.
In addition to these difficulties, these beneficiaries are also more likely to lack important resources available to manage their care, the data showed.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT
The data was culled from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey from 2017 to 2020. Of those surveyed, about two-thirds of Latino beneficiaries are partially or fully eligible for Medicaid, while half of Black patients are eligible and just a quarter of white patients are eligible.
The focus was on people living in their communities, as opposed to living in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
About 21% of Latinos surveyed said they experienced difficulty with two or more ADLs. About 19% of Black beneficiaries reported the same, while only 14% of white patients said they struggled with ADLs.
Both Black and Latino Medicare beneficiaries struggling with ADLs are more likely than white beneficiaries to report low incomes, food insecurity and low rates of high school graduation, and less likely to report being married, all of which impact their experience with accessing long-term services and supports, the report found. Black beneficiaries are more likely to report problems paying medical bills.
Caregivers of such beneficiaries are more likely to be younger than 65, and be a non-spousal female relative compared to caregivers of white beneficiaries. Often caregiving involves personal and financial obligations, the report found, especially for young female relatives who may be in the workforce or have to leave the workforce.
THE LARGER TREND
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General found last year that there are significant inaccuracies in Medicare data on race and ethnicity, with data that's less accurate for some groups, particularly for beneficiaries identified as American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander or Hispanic.
This inaccurate data, the federal agency claimed, limits the ability to assess health disparities. Limited race and ethnicity categories and missing information contribute to inaccuracies in the enrollment data.
Although the use of an algorithm improves the existing data to some extent, it falls short of self-reported data, OIG said. And Medicare's enrollment data on race and ethnicity is inconsistent with federal data collection standards, which inhibits the work of identifying and improving health disparities within the Medicare population.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: Jeff.Lagasse@himssmedia.com
