Medicare Disease Management: Tactics to Improve Health, Education and Independence in an Aging Population

A leading cause of illness, disability and death among healthcare consumers, chronic disease claims a disproportionate share of costs for the elderly and generates a heavy financial burden on the nation as a whole. Now more than ever, health plans and providers are seeking strategies to balance the healthcare equation. Medicare disease management (DM) programs have emerged to even the odds, and have already demonstrated positive impacts on patients' health status and spending. This special report, "Medicare Disease Management: Tactics to Improve Health, Education and Independence in an Aging Population," highlights challenges and opportunities in working with the Medicare population, strategies to close gaps in care, and steps for sustaining system change and improved outcomes within senior care communities. Report contributors Blake Andersen, president of the Chronic Care Group at Health Sciences Institute, Pamela Fromelt, vice president of government programs at LifeMasters Inc., and Dr. Randall Krakauer, national medical director of retiree markets at Aetna, provide inside details on how disease management programs can serve the needs of Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions to improve their health status, while reducing spending on these conditions.