Foundation ranks Georgia near bottom for Medicare

Georgia ranked near the bottom of a first-ever analysis of Medicare performance by a foundation that promotes access to quality soundness care The new rankings by The Commonwealth Fund put Georgia in nd place out of states and Washington D C behind Alaska and ahead of New Mexico Georgia scored poorly for several reasons It had a relatively high rate of beneficiaries who took a drug that the elderly should avoid Its rate for pressure sores among residents of long-stay nursing homes was above the national average And people aged and older rated their soundness as fair or poor more frequently than the norm in surveys They also announced more difficulty dressing or walking and more often communicated loneliness and food insecurity Fund staffers involved in the analysis declared they included measures such as loneliness and food insecurity because plans in Medicare Advantage a privately managed alternative to original Medicare sometimes offer programs to address those issues State approach also can influence food insecurity they revealed The Georgia agency that serves Medicare beneficiaries and family members had no comment about the findings The Georgia Department of Human Services merely aids and informs through its State Medical Insurance Assistance Venture a spokeswoman declared The federal authorities administers Medicare States with lower medical care costs tended to do better in the rankings because recipients shoulder a portion of the expense and are more likely to seek care when they can afford it Outcomes on multiple of the Medicare performance measures which used figures from the last several years were likely driven by bigger factors than Medicare itself States that scored better tended to have vitality care systems that perform well for everyone not just those and older who qualify for Medicare When people are sick coming into Medicare they tend to be really sick when they re in Medicare David Radley a senior scientist at the Fund announced at a media briefing last week Vermont ranked first and Minnesota ranked third Both have low uninsured rates among younger adults he noted That means people if they are sick if they do have a chronic illness they re much more likely to be having that chronic illness managed and keeping that disorder in check as they age into Medicare he noted because they re more likely to be insured and have good access to care younger in life The post Foundation ranks Georgia near bottom for Medicare appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta