CMS Survey Data Illustrates Impact of COVID-19 on Medicare Beneficiaries’ Daily Life and Experiences

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released data showing that 21% of Medicare beneficiaries report forgoing non-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) care due to the pandemic, and nearly all – 98% – of beneficiaries have taken preventative measures to keep themselves safe from the virus.

According to the survey, the most common type of forgone care because of the pandemic was dental care (43%), followed by regular check-up (36%), treatment for ongoing condition (36%), and diagnostic or medical screening test (32%).  The most common reason cited for forgoing care was not wanting to risk being at a medical facility (45%).

Regarding COVID-19 preventative health behaviors, nearly all beneficiaries cited at least one or more actions they have taken to protect themselves, with regular handwashing/hand sanitizer use topping the list (98%), followed by social distancing and wearing facemasks (each at 93%).

In addition to forgone care and preventative health behaviors, the survey asked about the impact of the pandemic on daily life and well-being, availability of telemedicine appointments, access to technology, and sources of information about the pandemic.

The data comes from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) COVID-19 Summer 2020 Supplement, a nationally representative, cross-sectional telephone survey of 11,114 Medicare beneficiaries administered from June 10, 2020 through July 15, 2020. This data collection was a supplement to the MCBS annual data collection sponsored by CMS, and directed by the Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics (OEDA).

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Contact: CMS Media Relations CMS Media Inquiries

Original release can be found at cms.gov/newsroom.