ABSTRACT
Individuals who are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid have received considerable policy attention in recent years due to their high cost and complex health needs. Research suggests that the dually eligible comprise the sickest, poorest, and most costly cohort of beneficiaries in the nation’s health care system (Bruen & Holahan, 2003; Reese, 2009). Although this population is relatively small in number, consisting of approximately 9 million individuals, spending on dually eligible accounts for roughly 36% of Medicare’s total spending and 39% of Medicaid’s spending (Kaiser Family
Foundation, 2011a). Mainly because of their poor health status and continual health care needs, the Medicare costs of dually eligible beneficiaries are 1.5 times those of other Medicare beneficiaries (Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, 2004).
