Table 1.
Characteristics of Individuals with Diabetes, Hypertension, and/or CHD Dually Enrolled in the VA Health Care System and Medicare Advantage Plans in 2008–2009 (n = 6,643)
| VA‐Only Use | Dual VA–MA Use | p‐value for Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n | 1,637 | 5,006 | |
| Age | |||
| Mean (SD) | 69.2 (8.0) | 71.3 (7.7) | <0.001 |
| Sex | |||
| Male (%) | 98.2 | 98.5 | 0.371 |
| Female (%) | 1.8 | 1.5 | |
| Race | |||
| White (%) | 79.3 | 89.4 | <0.001 |
| Black (%) | 17.3 | 7.9 | |
| Other (%) | 3.4 | 2.7 | |
| Region | |||
| Northeast (%) | 16.4 | 25.7 | <0.001 |
| Midwest (%) | 27.5 | 23.8 | |
| South (%) | 30.4 | 28.6 | |
| West (%) | 25.7 | 21.9 | |
| Medicaid and special needs plan enrollment | |||
| Enrolled in Medicaid (%) | 2.4 | 1.4 | 0.004 |
| Enrolled in SNP (%) | 8.4 | 5.6 | <0.001 |
| VA enrollment priority status | |||
| High priority—Groups 1–6 (%) | 76.9 | 59.9 | <0.001 |
| Low priority—Groups 7–8 (%) | 23.1 | 40.1 | |
| Number of comorbid conditions | |||
| Mean (SD) | 4.7 (2.5) | 3.8 (2.1) | <0.001 |
| Comorbid conditions | |||
| AIDS (%) | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.087 |
| Alcohol abuse (%) | 8.8 | 4.4 | <0.001 |
| Blood loss anemia (%) | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.228 |
| Chronic pulmonary disease (%) | 31.4 | 24.1 | <0.001 |
| Coagulopathy (%) | 5.3 | 3.5 | 0.001 |
| Congestive heart failure (%) | 18.0 | 13.0 | <0.001 |
| Deficiency anemia (%) | 22.0 | 15.1 | <0.001 |
| Depression (%) | 24.8 | 20.0 | <0.001 |
| Diabetes—complicated (%) | 27.7 | 20.4 | <0.001 |
| Diabetes—uncomplicated (%) | 57.7 | 54.8 | 0.040 |
| Drug abuse (%) | 4.4 | 2.4 | <0.001 |
| Fluid and electrolyte disorder (%) | 16.7 | 8.3 | <0.001 |
| Hypertension—complicated (%) | 94.1 | 89.9 | <0.001 |
| Hypothyroidism (%) | 10.1 | 9.2 | 0.288 |
| Liver disease (%) | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.011 |
| Lymphoma (%) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.921 |
| Metastatic cancer (%) | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.414 |
| Myocardial infarction (%) | 21.3 | 19.9 | 0.247 |
| Neurological disorder (%) | 6.9 | 5.5 | 0.043 |
| Obesity (%) | 36.0 | 29.5 | <0.001 |
| Paralysis (%) | 3.2 | 1.3 | <0.001 |
| Peripheral vascular disorder (%) | 19.6 | 15.2 | <0.001 |
| Psychoses (%) | 17.0 | 12.1 | <0.001 |
| Pulmonary circulation disorder (%) | 2.8 | 1.1 | <0.001 |
| Renal failure (%) | 5.1 | 4.2 | 0.131 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis (%) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 0.249 |
| Tumor—without metastasis (%) | 15.2 | 15.6 | 0.671 |
| Ulcer (%) | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.010 |
| Valvular disease (%) | 7.1 | 6.4 | 0.283 |
| Weight loss (%) | 4.4 | 2.6 | <0.001 |
| Distance from zip code to VA | |||
| Mean (SD) | 11.1 (10.8) | 12.1 (10.8) | <0.001 |
| Proportion of persons >65 with some college education in zip code | |||
| Mean (SD) | 29.8 (13.0) | 30.6 (13.7) | 0.042 |
| Median household income for persons 65–74 in zip code | |||
| Mean (SD) | $29,618 ($9,362) | $31,417 ($9,389) | <0.001 |
| Median household income for persons >75 in zip code | |||
| Mean (SD) | $21,636 ($7,251) | $22,562 ($7,393) | <0.001 |
Bold text signifies p‐value for difference <.05.