Table 3. Descriptive Statistics for Medicare+Choice Plans, by Payment Rate and Urban and Rural Status: 1996, 1999, 2000, and 2001.
| Statistic | Month | Year | All Counties | Payment Rate in 1997 Dollars | Urban and Rural Status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||
| Urban | Non-Urban | ||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
| $300-$399 | $400-$499 | $500 or More | Adjacent | Non-Adjacent | |||||
| Percent | |||||||||
| Living in the County or GSA of Any Risk Plan | March | 2001 | 62.6 | NA | 47.3 | 96.7 | 78.3 | 20.5 | 3.6 |
| January | 2001 | 62.6 | NA | 47.2 | 96.7 | 78.2 | 20.5 | 3.6 | |
| January | 2001 | 68.1 | 27.3 | 71.6 | 97.1 | 83.3 | 30.6 | 6.8 | |
| January | 1999 | 68.3 | 22.0 | 64.0 | 95.8 | 83.4 | 31.4 | 7.5 | |
| Basic Plan1 | |||||||||
| Outpatient Prescription Drug Coverage | March | 2001 | 45.3 | NA | 27.9 | 84.0 | 58.1 | 74.0 | 1.4 |
| January | 2001 | 44.7 | NA | 27.3 | 83.5 | 57.4 | 68.0 | 1.4 | |
| January | 2000 | 52.0 | 13.3 | 48.8 | 89.7 | 66.1 | 12.2 | 2.2 | |
| January | 1999 | 61.2 | 14.5 | 52.7 | 93.9 | 75.8 | 23.0 | 5.3 | |
| Outpatient Prescription Drug Coverage Over $800 per Year | March | 2001 | 21.3 | NA | 10.4 | 45.3 | 27.5 | 27.0 | 0.0 |
| January | 2001 | 21.1 | NA | 10.2 | 45.3 | 27.3 | 25.0 | 0.0 | |
| January | 2000 | 44.0 | 8.6 | 40.6 | 79.2 | 56.4 | 87.0 | 0.2 | |
| January | 1999 | 50.6 | 5.4 | 37.8 | 87.8 | 64.1 | 13.0 | 1.9 | |
| Dental Coverage | March | 2001 | 32.0 | NA | 17.6 | 64.2 | 41.3 | 5.0 | 0.1 |
| January | 2001 | 29.5 | NA | 14.5 | 62.8 | 38.0 | 43.0 | 0.0 | |
| January | 2000 | 32.6 | 2.8 | 23.4 | 71.8 | 42.4 | 34.0 | 0.1 | |
| January | 1999 | 49.0 | 6.8 | 37.7 | 82.9 | 62.0 | 12.8 | 2.1 | |
| Eye Coverage, Glasses | March | 2001 | 27.5 | NA | 13.7 | 58.2 | 35.7 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| January | 2001 | 27.5 | NA | 13.7 | 58.2 | 35.7 | 3.0 | 0.0 | |
| January | 2000 | 56.3 | 16.8 | 54.7 | 92.0 | 70.2 | 18.9 | 4.4 | |
| January | 1999 | 65.8 | 16.4 | 61.1 | 95.5 | 80.8 | 27.4 | 7.7 | |
| Premiums2 | |||||||||
| Medicare Risk-Plan Enrollees in Zero-Premium Plans | March | 2001 | 17.2 | NA | 14.5 | 19.3 | 17.1 | 22.9 | 10.1 |
| January | 2001 | 14.8 | NA | 14.4 | 15.2 | 14.7 | 22.1 | 10.1 | |
| January | 2000 | 47.9 | 30.1 | 38.3 | 58.2 | 48.0 | 45.2 | 29.1 | |
| January | 1999 | 62.3 | 18.0 | 46.5 | 73.1 | 63.3 | 32.3 | 18.0 | |
| In Dollars | |||||||||
| Average Monthly Premium | March | 2001 | $35.60 | NA | $38.82 | $31.75 | $35.53 | $35.60 | $52.11 |
| January | 2001 | 37.68 | NA | 42.62 | 31.97 | 37.54 | 40.76 | 53.23 | |
| January | 2000 | 31.56 | $42.17 | 31.57 | 23.90 | 31.47 | 29.57 | 48.77 | |
| January | 1999 | 33.24 | 40.14 | 32.57 | 30.64 | 32.72 | 35.68 | 50.35 | |
1
In cases with multiple plan options, the basic plan was defined to be the option with the lowest premium or most generous prescription drug benefit in case of ties (Gold, 2001).
2
In cases with multiple plan options, risk-plan enrollees were assigned to the basic plan.
NOTES: GSA is general service area. NA is not applicable.
SOURCES: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Data from the Medicare Compare database, Area Resource File, and Quarterly State/County/Plan File: January 1999, 2000, 2001, and March 2001.