Table 1.
Sociodemographic and Health Characteristics of Older Adults Who Report Trouble Getting Places Like the Doctor’s Office
| Respondents reporting trouble getting places N = 8,308,041 Weighted no. (%) |
Adjusted odds ratio, 95%CI* | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 65–69 | 1,865,495 (13.9) | Ref |
| 70–74 | 1,910,904 (13.9) | 1.04 (0.83 to 1.30) | |
| 75–79 | 1,535,305 (16.1) | 1.23 (0.96 to 1.58) | |
| 80–84 | 1,212,640 (21.3) | 1.68 (1.30 to 2.17) | |
| 85+ | 1,783,699 (33.0) | 2.97 (2.30 to 3.85) | |
| Sex | Male | 1,960,134 (13.8) | Ref |
| Female | 5,347,907 (20.3) | 1.54 (1.35 to 1.76) | |
| Race† | Asian | 204,143 (15.7) | 0.86 (0.54 to 1.36) |
| African American | 848,061 (19.4) | 0.84 (0.65 to 1.10) | |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 6,417 (10.7) | 0.34 (0.02 to 5.27) | |
| White | 6,596,660 (16.8) | Ref | |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 103,167 (26.0) | 1.08 (0.69 to 1.69) | |
| More than one | 247,686 (19.0) | 1.00 (0.75 to 1.35) | |
| Hispanic ethnicity‡ | Yes | 910,054 (24.6) | 1.12 (0.89 to 1.41) |
| No | 7,320,657 (16.7) | Ref | |
| Education§ | Did not graduate high school | 1,552,283 (25.1) | 0.88 (0.71 to 1.09) |
| High school/some college | 4,134,390 (18.2) | 1.01 (0.86 to 1.17) | |
| College or above | 2,589,759 (13.8) | Ref | |
| Income | ≤100% FPL | 1,582,602 (28.9) | 1.29 (1.03 to 1.62) |
| >100% to ≤200% FPL | 2,484,079 (22.6) | 1.16 (1.01 to 1.34) | |
| > 200% FPL | 4,241,360 (13.5) | Ref | |
| Lives alone | No | 5,470,158 (16.2) | Ref |
| Yes | 2,837,883 (20.2) | 1.11 (0.97 to 1.27) | |
| ResidenceII | Metropolitan | 6,886,431 (17.6) | Ref |
| Micropolitan | 765,496 (17.0) | 0.81 (0.64 to 1.02) | |
| Small town | 319,175 (14.1) | 0.63 (0.44 to 0.91) | |
| Rural | 33,528 (17.2) | 0.80 (0.56 to 1.13) | |
| Area Deprivation Index¶ | 1st quartile (least deprivation) | 2,033,304 (15.6) | Ref |
| 2nd quartile | 1,867,441 (16.1) | 0.92 (0.78 to 1.09) | |
| 3rd quartile | 1,795,536 (17.3) | 0.90 (0.75 to 1.07) | |
| 4th quartile (most deprivation) | 2,141,071 (20.4) | 0.93 (0.74 to 1.17) | |
| Medicare type# | Medicare Advantage | 3,166,735 (17.6) | 0.88 (0.78 to 0.99) |
| Traditional Medicare | 4,879,325 (17.0) | Ref | |
| Medicaid dual eligibility | Yes | 1,622,070 (32.8) | 1.34 (1.08 to 1.66) |
| No | 6,685,971 (15.6) | Ref | |
| Self-rated health** | Fair or poor | 3,462,584 (42.6) | 3.68 (3.21 to 4.22) |
| Not fair or poor | 4,794,300 (12.1) | Ref | |
| Heart disease†† | Present | 4,120,571 (24.7) | 1.45 (1.27 to 1.65) |
| Not present | 4,187,470 (13.5) | Ref | |
| Stroke | Present | 1,575,245 (34.0) | 1.48 (1.28 to 1.71) |
| Not present | 6,732,797 (15.6) | Ref | |
| Diabetes | Present | 2,321,115 (23.6) | 1.17 (0.98 to 1.39) |
| Not present | 5,986,926 (15.8) | Ref | |
| Non-skin cancer | Present | 1,879,100 (19.3) | 1.00 (0.87 to 1.15) |
| Not present | 6,428,940 (16.9) | Ref | |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | Present | 2,648,197 (28.3) | 1.48 (1.30 to 1.69) |
| Not present | 5,659,843 (14.7) | Ref | |
| Pulmonary disease | Present | 2,308,392 (27.4) | 1.35 (1.20 to 1.52) |
| Not present | 5,999,649 (15.2) | Ref | |
| Obesity | Present | 3,875,349 (19.3) | 1.23 (1.08 to 1.39) |
| Not present | 4,432,692 (16.0) | Ref | |
| Paralysis or amputation | Present | 670,952 (45.2) | 2.79 (2.07 to 3.75) |
| Not present | 7,637,089 (16.5) | Ref | |
| Mental illness | Present | 3,151,091 (28.3) | 1.63 (1.43 to 1.85) |
| Not present | 5,156,949 (14.1) | Ref | |
| Dementia | Present | 966,745 (50.5) | 2.54 (1.91 to 3.37) |
| Not present | 7,341,296 (16.0) | Ref | |
SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey [2019]. Data were collected in the winter, summer, and fall of 2019. Table presents weighted numbers and row percentages of respondents in a given subcategory who reported trouble getting places. We applied MCBS cross-sectional sampling weights to construct national estimates and used balanced repeated replication weights for variance estimation
FPL, Federal Poverty Level. *Multivariable model includes all variables in the table. Missing values were included in the models using an indicator variable. †Race don’t know or refused for 313 respondents. ‡Ethnicity don’t know or refused for 56 respondents. §Education don’t know or refused for 42 respondents. IIResidence (based on Rural-Urban commuting area (RUCA) codes) missing for 7 respondents. ¶Area Deprivation Index (for census block group with quartiles based on national-level percentile) missing for 626 respondents. #249 respondents had both MA and TM enrollment in the study period. **Self-rated health don’t know or refused for 50 respondents. ††For chronic conditions, don’t know/refused was counted as “no.”