PREVENTIVE SERVICES IN A MEDICARE MANAGED CARE ENVIRONMENT

The results of a four year demonstration project of preventive service s for Medicare managed care enrollees suggest that health promotion pr ograms can impact health behaviors and outcomes. The study provided se lected preventive services to 1,800 Medicare enrollees in a managed ca re environment. Participants were randomly assigned to control and exp erimental groups with the experimental group receiving an intervention service package and the control group usual care. The results include d enhanced health behavior practices, lower depression, and higher imm unization rates among those individuals in the experimental group. Thi s study suggests that selected preventive services can be provided in a managed care environment to Medicare enrollees with likely positive health status and utilization outcomes.