The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released a brief examining provisions in the national health care reform law aimed at improving the delivery and coordination of services for dual eligibles.  The brief uses linked Medicare and Medicaid data to examine the chronic conditions and co-morbidities that lead to substantial service needs for dual eligibles, and outlines how both programs contribute financially to ensure that dual eligibles receive the care that they need.  KFF suggests that dual eligibles will be a focus of state and federal policy for the foreseeable future.

From the report: With the passage of health reform, new provisions are directed at improving the delivery and coordination of services for persons enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare, otherwise known as dual eligibles. Dual eligibles constitute a costly segment of beneficiaries for both programs and include individuals with some of the most severely disabling chronic conditions. While the higher costs associated with services to dual eligibles is well‐known, information on how spending distributes across these programs is less understood. This analysis uses linked Medicare and Medicaid data to provide a clearer picture of the chronic physical and mental conditions and multiple co‐morbidities that create substantial needs for medical and long‐term services among dual eligibles, and provides information about the financial contribution of both Medicare and Medicaid in meeting these needs.

Full report: Chronic Disease and Co-Morbidity Among Dual Eligibles: Implications for Patterns of Medicaid and Medicare Service Use and Spending (PDF | 505.5 KB)

Kaiser Family Foundation.  (2010).  Chronic disease and co-morbidity among dual eligibles: implications for patterns of medicaid and medicare service use and spending.