Using a unique data set that researchers at the Muskie School have created by linking Medicare (Parts A and B) and Medicaid claims files for Maine, this project will produce a profile of the characteristics and healthcare utilization patterns of rural and urban elders and/or people with disabilities who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. The chartbook will include descriptive information on the average per member per month expenditures by Medicare and Medicaid for major categories of services (e.g., hospital, physician, drugs, home health, nursing facility) computed for rural and urban beneficiaries and areas. Interwoven with the presentation of the rural-urban comparisons of beneficiary characteristics and healthcare use patterns, the chartbook will outline and discuss research and policy questions and/or issues that emerge from those comparisons. Descriptive analyses presented in the chartbook will serve as a prototype for the development of similar analyses by other states that have, or are in the process of creating, linked Medicaid and Medicare data.

There may be products related to this project; please contact the lead researcher for more information.