The Diversity of Dual Eligible Beneficiaries: An Examination of Services and Spending for People Eligible for Both Medicaid and Medicare

This issue brief analyzes linked Medicare and Medicaid data to examine dual eligibles’ utilization and spending in both programs in 2007. As a group, dual eligibles are costly—with per capita Medicare and Medicaid spending over four times Medicare spending for other beneficiaries. However, a small share of dual eligibles account for most of the group’s spending, and dual eligibles who are high cost to the Medicare program are generally not the same individuals who are high cost to the Medicaid program. The new analysis has important implications for efforts to integrate benefits and align financing for dual eligibles.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

A shorter version of this analysis was published in Health Affairs.

Previous version:

April 2009 (.pdf)