CMS Dual Beneficiary Numbers

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Room 352-G
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Office of Media Affairs

In 2008, there were 9.2 million individuals eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs.[i]  Medicare-Medicaid enrollees, “dual eligibles,” are among the most chronically ill and costly individuals enrolled in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, with many having multiple chronic conditions and/or long-term care needs.  More than half of Medicare-Medicaid enrollees have incomes below the poverty line[ii] compared with 8 percent of other Medicare beneficiaries.[iii]  Forty-three percent of Medicare-Medicaid enrollees have at least one mental or cognitive impairment,[iv] while 60 percent have multiple chronic conditions.[v]  Nineteen percent live in institutional settings compared to only 3 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who are not also eligible for Medicaid.⁵  This group must navigate two separate programs: Medicare for coverage of basic acute health care services and drugs, and Medicaid for coverage of long-term care supports and services, and help with Medicare premiums and cost-sharing. 

Medicare-Medicaid enrollees account for a disproportionately large share of expenditures in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs: accounting for 16 percent of Medicare enrollees, yet 27 percent of Medicare spending in 2006.[vi]  In Medicaid, they comprised only 15 percent of enrollees but represented 39 percent of Medicaid spending in 2007.[vii]  

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To see the rest of the CMS Fact Sheet please visit: http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/factsheet.asp?Counter=3954