Effects of Medicare Coverage of a “Welcome-to-Medicare” Visit on Use of Preventive Services among New Medicare Enrollees
Table 1
Variable definitions and descriptive statistics for the treatment and comparison groups before Medicare introduced IPPE coverage, Health and Retirement Study, 1996–2004.
Variable
Definition
Treatment Group
Comparison Group
Mean (SE)
Mean (SE)
Dependent variables
Mammogram
1 if having a mammogram; 0 otherwise
0.76 (0.42)
0.80 (0.39)
Check for breast lumps
1 if conducting a monthly self-exam for breast lumps; 0 otherwise
0.65 (0.47)
0.61 (0.48)
Pap smear
1 if having a Pap smear; 0 otherwise
0.64 (0.47)
0.63 (0.48)
Prostate exam
1 if having a prostate examination; 0 otherwise
0.78 (0.41)
0.81 (0.38)
Men
Women
Men
Women
Cholesterol test
1 if having a cholesterol blood test; 0 otherwise
0.87 (0.33)
0.82 (0.38)
0.84 (0.36)
0.84 (0.36)
Flu vaccine
1 if having a flu shot; 0 otherwise
0.68 (0.46)
0.67 (0.47)
0.67 (0.46)
0.70 (0.45)
Control variables
Previous use of mammogram
1 if previously having a mammogram; 0 otherwise
0.74 (0.43)
0.77 (0.41)
Previous breast self-exam
1 if previously conducting a monthly self-exam for breast lumps; 0 otherwise
0.62 (0.48)
0.63 (0.48)
Previous use of Pap smear
1 if previously having a Pap smear; 0 otherwise
0.67 (0.47)
0.70 (0.45)
Previous use of prostate exam
1 if previously having a prostate examination; 0 otherwise
0.76 (0.42)
0.75 (0.43)
Men
Women
Men
Women
Previous use of cholesterol test
1 if previously having a cholesterol blood test; 0 otherwise
0.74 (0.43)
0.74 (0.43)
0.77 (0.41)
0.79 (0.40)
Previous use of flu vaccine shot
1 if previously having a flu shot; 0 otherwise
0.51 (0.50)
0.53 (0.49)
0.49 (0.50)
0.54 (0.49)
Race
White
1 if White/Caucasian; 0 otherwise
0.76 (0.42)
0.83 (0.37)
Black
1 if Black/African American; 0 otherwise
0.14 (0.35)
0.11 (0.32)
Hispanic
1 if Hispanic/Latino; 0 otherwise
0.06 (0.25)
0.03 (0.18)
Other
1 if a race/ethnicity other than White, Black, or Hispanic; 0 otherwise
0.08 (0.28)
0.05 (0.22)
Education
Less than high school
1 if less than 12 years of education; 0 otherwise
0.22 (0.41)
0.17 (0.37)
High school/GED
1 if 12 years of education; 0 otherwise
0.41 (0.49)
0.41 (0.49)
Some college and beyond
1 if more than 12 years of education; otherwise
0.36 (0.48)
0.41 (0.49)
Employment
1 if employed full time; 0 otherwise
0.09 (0.28)
0.08 (0.28)
CES-D score
1 if scored 0 in CESD; 0 otherwise
0.42 (0.49)
0.51 (0.50)
Chronic diseases
1 if reporting 0 chronic diseases; 0 otherwise
0.13 (0.34)
0.13 (0.34)
Married
I if married; 0 otherwise
0.71 (0.45)
0.73 (0.44)
Census region
Northeast
1 if census region is northeast; 0 otherwise
0.13 (0.34)
0.11 (0.32)
Midwest
1 if census region is midwest; 0 otherwise
0.28 (0.45)
0.32 (0.46)
South
1 if census region is south; 0 otherwise
0.44 (0.49)
0.44 (0.49)
West
1 if census region is west; 0 otherwise
0.13 (0.34)
0.11 (0.32)
Rural
1 if population is less than 250,000; 0 otherwise
0.39 (0.48)
0.38 (0.48)
Exercise
1 if performing physical activity; 0 otherwise
0.74 (0.43)
0.75 (0.42)
Not drinking
1 if not drinking; 0 otherwise
0.71 (0.45)
0.67 (0.46)
Not smoking
1 if not smoking; 0 otherwise
0.82 (0.37)
0.87 (0.32)
Driving
1 if being able to drive; 0 otherwise
0.90 (0.29)
0.94 (0.23)
Total household real income (in year 2007 dollars)
Income 1
1 if total household income is less than $25000; 0 otherwise
0.28 (0.45)
0.23 (0.42)
Income 2
1 if total household income is between $25,000 and $50,000; 0 otherwise
0.32 (0.46)
0.34 (0.47)
Income 3
1 if total household income is more than $50,000, 0 otherwise
0.39 (0.48)
0.42 (0.49)
Employer provided insurance
1 if covered by employer insurance; 0 otherwise
0.43 (0.490
0.44 (0.49)
ADL
1 if reporting 0 ADL limitations; 0 otherwise
0.86 (0.34)
0.90 (0.29)
Overweight
1 if BMI is equal to and greater than 25; 0 otherwise
0.70 (0.45)
0.68 (0.46)
Self-reported health
Better than good
1 if reporting better than good health; 0 otherwise
0.36 (0.48)
0.48 (0.50)
Good
1 if reporting good health; 0 otherwise
0.30 (0.46)
0.31 (0.46)
Less than good
1 if reporting worse than good health; 0 otherwise
0.32 (0.46)
0.20 (0.40)
Rate eyesight
Better than good
1 if reporting better than good eyesight; 0 otherwise
0.32 (0.47)
0.39 (0.48)
Good
1 if reporting good eyesight; 0 otherwise
0.45 (0.49)
0.44 (0.49)
Less than Good
1 if reporting worse than good eyesight; 0 otherwise
0.22 (0.41)
0.15 (0.36)
Note. SE = standard error. Among a specific preventive care group only. Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is the sum of indicators: feeling depressed, everything being an effort, sleep being restless, feeling unhappy, feeling lonely, feeling sad, could not get going, and not enjoying life [6]. The activities of daily living (ADL) index covers walking across a room, dressing, bathing, eating, getting in and out of bed, and using the toilet [6].
