Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics for Medicare Beneficiaries from the Fall 2020 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) COVID-19 Supplement
| Variables |
N (%), N = 6478 and weighted N = 39,591,268 |
|---|---|
| Agree that COVID-19 is more contagious than flu | 5547 (85.6) |
| Agree that COVID-19 is more deadly than flu | 5544 (85.6) |
| Agree that all should take COVID-19 precautions | 6302 (97.3) |
| Would get a COVID-19 vaccine if available | 3989 (61.6) |
| Primary sources of COVID-19 information | |
| Traditional news sources | 3471 (53.6) |
| Guidance from governmental officials | 558 (8.6) |
| Social media | 115 (1.8) |
| Other webpages/Internet | 447 (6.9) |
| Friends or family members | 525 (8.1) |
| Health care providers | 1362 (21.0) |
| Age | |
| < 65 years | 1295 (20.0) |
| 65–74 years | 2437 (37.6) |
| 75+ years | 2746 (42.4) |
| Female | 3624 (55.9) |
| Race/ethnicity | |
| Non-Hispanic white | 4945 (76.3) |
| Hispanic | 625 (9.6) |
| Non-Hispanic black | 579 (8.9) |
| Other | 329 (5.1) |
| Income | |
| $25,000 or more | 2215 (34.2) |
| Less than $25,000 | 4263 (65.8) |
| Residence of rural areas | 5004 (77.2) |
| US census regions | |
| Northeast | 1197 (18.5) |
| Midwest | 1522 (23.5) |
| South | 2444 (37.7) |
| West | 1315 (20.3) |
| Insurance | |
| Enrollment in Medicare and Medicaid | 1131 (17.5) |
| Enrollment in Medicare Advantage | 2782 (42.9) |
| Use of other language at home other than English | 697 (10.8) |
| Having a particular place for medical care | 5941 (91.7) |
| Self-reported health conditions | |
| Hypertension | 4172 (64.4) |
| Myocardial infarction | 626 (9.7) |
| Congestive heart failure | 406 (6.3) |
| Stroke | 584 (9.0) |
| High cholesterol | 4285 (66.1) |
| Cancer | 1378 (21.3) |
| Alzheimer’s disease/dementia | 101 (1.6) |
| Depression | 1756 (27.1) |
| Osteoporosis | 1234 (19.0) |
| Broken hip | 211 (3.3) |
| Emphysema/asthma/COPD | 1250 (19.3) |
| Diabetes | 2142 (33.1) |
| Weak immune system | 1162 (17.9) |
| Smoking status | |
| Current smoker | 746 (11.5) |
| Former smoker | 3014 (46.5) |
| Never smoked | 2718 (42.0) |
| Interview date | |
| Week of October 4, 2020 | 1217 (18.8) |
| Week of October 11, 2020 | 1630 (25.2) |
| Week of October 18, 2020 | 1217 (18.8) |
| Week of October 25, 2020 | 1106 (17.1) |
| Week of November 1, 2020 | 835 (12.9) |
| November 8 to 15, 2020 | 473 (7.3) |
Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease