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. 2020 Jul;18(4):309–317. doi: 10.1370/afm.2544

Table 4.

Characteristics of CPC+ Participants and Nonparticipants Among CPC+ Applicants, Based on Medicare FFS Beneficiary Composition, Before CPC+

Characteristic Applicants (n = 4,346)a Among Applicants
P Value
Participants (n = 3,051)b,c Nonparticipants (n = 1,295)
Characteristics of Medicare FFS beneficiaries attributed to practice at baseline d
Age
 0-49 y, % (95% CI) 6.0 (5.8-6.2) 5.2 (5.1-5.4) 7.9 (7.5-8.4) < .001
 50-64 y, % (95% CI) 13.1 (12.9-13.4) 12.0 (11.7-12.2) 15.9 (15.4-16.4) < .001
 65-74 y, % (95% CI) 45.3 (45.0-45.6) 46.1 (45.8-46.4) 43.3 (42.7-44.0) < .001
 75-84 y, % (95% CI) 24.1 (23.9-24.3) 24.9 (24.7-25.1) 22.2 (21.7-22.6) < .001
 ≥ 85 y, % (95% CI) 11.5 (11.3-11.7) 11.8 (11.6-12.0) 10.7 (10.2-11.1) < .001
Male, % (95% CI) 41.6 (41.4-41.9) 41.7 (41.4-41.9) 41.5 (41.0-42.1) .664
Race
 Black, % (95% CI) 8.5 (8.1-9.0) 6.9 (6.5-7.4) 12.3 (11.3-13.4) < .001
 White, % (95% CI) 84.3 (83.7-84.9) 85.8 (85.1-86.5) 80.8 (79.6-82.0) < .001
 Other, % (95% CI) 7.2 (6.8-7.6) 7.3 (6.8-7.8) 6.9 (6.2-7.6) .383
Dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, % (95% CI)e 17.0 (16.6-17.5) 14.9 (14.4-15.4) 22.0 (21.0-23.0) < .001
HCC score attributed in baseline year, mean (95% CI)f 1.12 (1.11-1.13) 1.10 (1.10-1.11) 1.16 (1.14-1.18) < .001
Chronic conditions as of baseline yearg
 Alzheimer disease and related dementia, % (95% CI) 7.7 (7.5-7.9) 7.4 (7.2-7.5) 8.4 (8.0-8.9) < .001
 Cancer, % (95% CI) 7.6 (7.5-7.7) 7.9 (7.8-8.0) 7.0 (6.8-7.1) < .001
 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, % (95% CI) 10.8 (10.7-11.0) 10.3 (10.2-10.5) 12.0 (11.6-12.4) < .001
 Chronic kidney disease, % (95% CI) 16.8 (16.6-17.1) 16.4 (16.2-16.6) 17.9 (17.4-18.4) < .001
 Congestive heart failure, % (95% CI) 11.4 (11.2-11.6) 11.0 (10.8-11.1) 12.4 (11.9-12.8) < .001
 Diabetes, % (95% CI) 26.3 (26.1-26.6) 25.7 (25.4-26.0) 27.8 (27.2-28.4) < .001
Medicare FFS expenditures and service use for Medicare FFS beneficiaries attributed to practice at baseline
Medicare expenditures per beneficiary ($/mo), median (IQR)h,i 858 (744-1,004) 850 (745-981) 874 (737-1,090) < .001
Weighted Medicare expenditures per beneficiary ($/mo), median (IQR)h,i 855 (761-976) 849 (757-964) 869 (768-1,020) < .001
Acute care stays per 1,000 beneficiaries (annualized), median (IQR) 282 (233-346) 276 (231-331) 302 (239-390) < .001
ED visits per 1,000 beneficiaries (annualized), median (IQR) 481 (374-638) 465 (366-598) 537 (397-753) < .001
Primary care (ambulatory) visits per 1,000 beneficiaries (annualized), median (IQR) 4,471 (3,927-5,161) 4,443 (3,917-5,087) 4,565 (3,957-5,503) < .001
Percentage of discharges for which beneficiary had a 14-day follow-up visit after hospitalization, median (IQR)j 69.1 (63.0-74.4) 69.6 (64.0-74.5) 67.8 (60.4-74.3) < .001

CMS = Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; CPC+ = Comprehensive Primary Care Plus; ED = emergency department; FFS = fee for service; HCC = hierarchical condition category; IQR = interquartile range.

Note: Primary care practices include all practices with ≥ 1 practitioner (defined as a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant) with a specialty of primary care (defined as family practice, general practice, geriatrics, or internal medicine). The 2018 starters represent 11% of all practices, 7% of applicants, and 5% of participants.

Sources: Mathematica’s analysis of data on the number, characteristics, and service use and spending of attributed Medicare beneficiaries based on Medicare Enrollment Database and claims data.

a

A total of 4,599 practices applied for CPC+. The number of applicants in this table (4,346) is fewer because some applicants could not be identified in the SK&A data, and some applicants had no attributed Medicare FFS beneficiaries at baseline.

b

The 2018 starters comprise approximately 5% of the participating CPC+ practices and 5% of attributed beneficiaries.

c

As of April 1 of the first intervention year.

d

The baseline year is 2016 for the 2017 starters and 2017 for the 2018 starters.

e

Calculated as the percentage of beneficiaries attributed to a practice in the baseline year who were dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid in the quarter before the start of the baseline year.

f

The HCC score is based on beneficiaries’ diagnoses in 2015 (for 2017 starters) or 2016 (for 2018 starters).

g

The lookback periods for the chronic conditions are 3 years before the baseline year for Alzheimer and related dementia, 1 year before the baseline year for cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 2 years before the baseline year for chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, and diabetes.

h

We deflated the 2017 (baseline) mean and median per beneficiary per month expenditures for the practices in the 2018 CPC+ regions by the 0.9% Medicare inflation rate (CMS Office of the Actuary, personal communication, May 6, 2019).

i

For the calculation of the weighted (mean/median) monthly Medicare expenditures per beneficiary, the practice-level expenditure variable (mean/median) is weighted by the number of beneficiaries attributed to the practice, so that practices with more attributed beneficiaries get a greater weight. The means and medians for all of the other characteristics in the table are unweighted, meaning that each practice is treated equally, regardless of its size.

j

This measure was calculated for beneficiaries attributed in the first quarter of the baseline year.