Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1997 Apr;12(4):247-9.
doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.1997.012004247.x.

Elderly veterans receiving care at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center while enrolled in Medicare-financed HMOs. Is the taxpayer paying twice?

L J Passman  1 , R E Garcia, L Campbell, E Winter
Affiliations

Elderly veterans receiving care at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center while enrolled in Medicare-financed HMOs. Is the taxpayer paying twice?

L J Passman et al. J Gen Intern Med. 1997 Apr.

Abstract

Elderly veterans who visit our Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center primary care clinic often mention they are enrolled in HMOs. Approximately 20% of patients hospitalized at our facility report health insurance coverage. Of 1,000 hospitalizations during a 6-month period in which veterans reported insurance coverage, 337 involved elderly veterans. Of these 337 hospitalizations, 218 (65%) were for 174 veterans who stated they were enrolled in a Medicare-financed HMO. The VA's Medical Care Cost Recovery Program deemed only 46 (21%) of the hospitalizations billable and received reimbursement for 20 (9%). Thus, the VA is providing costly services already paid for by the Health Care Financing Administration under prepaid capitation contracts, and recovers minimal reimbursement from the HMOs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in