The purpose of this project is to estimate the amount of pent-up demand of rural Medicare beneficiaries who enter risk plans. Pent-up demand will be measured by comparing changes in annual hospital days and physician visits for rural Medicare beneficiaries in counties served by risk plans and by the fee-for-service system, controlling for baseline levels. The study sites will be rural counties first entered by UnitedHealth Group during the period 1996-1997. UnitedHealth Group is a diversified healthcare management company that operates in all 50 states. It is the second largest U.S. health insurer in terms of number of enrollees covered and has been one of the primary Medicare risk contractors.

There may be products related to this project; please contact the lead researcher for more information.