Centre for Policy on Ageing



Providing information to help Medicare beneficiaries choose a health plan
Author(s)	Lauren A McCormack, Barri B Burrus, Steven A Garfinkel
Journal title	Journal of Aging & Social Policy, vol 12, no 2, 2001
Pages	pp 49-72
Source	http://www.tandfonline.com
Keywords	Health insurance ; Consumer choice ; Advisory services [elderly] ; United States of America.
Annotation	Many Medicare beneficiaries have limited knowledge of the US Medicare programme and related health insurance options. This is due in part to the complexity of Medicare and the supplemental health insurance market. A mandate through the Balanced Budget Act 1997 called for broad dissemination of information to educate beneficiaries about their health plan options, and to encourage informed health plan decision-making. In response, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) launched the National Medicare Education Program (NMEP) to support the Act's educational objectives. This paper provides an overview of the components of the NMEP information campaign. The authors also review lessons learned from their experience in designing and testing a prototype consumer handbook that explains the different health care options. They highlight ways of communicating information effectively about a complex publicly funded programme to an older population. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-010531208 A
Classmark	WPG: WYC: IT: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.