THE VALUE AND USE OF THE QUALIFIED MEDICARE BENEFICIARY PROGRAM - EARLY EVIDENCE FROM TENNESSEE

The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Program eliminated the out of -pocket costs of obtaining health care services under the Medicare pro gram for some low-income beneficiaries who were previously ineligible for Medicaid. The program is underused, and little is known about its effects. This article describes the QMB Program and compares program b eneficiaries with others whose out-of-pocket payments are covered by M edicaid. Using Medicare claims data covering QMBs in Tennessee, we fou nd that the program financed a relatively high rate of use of Medicare services and saved low-income Medicare beneficiaries hundreds of doll ars per month in out of-pocket costs. Social workers can promote the p rogram and increase the use of its covered services appropriately, the reby maximizing its potential benefits to low-income people.