Black Medicare Beneficiaries Are More Likely Than White Beneficiaries to Have Cost-Related Problems with Their Health Care, Across both Traditional Medicare and in Medicare Advantage Plans

Rates of Cost-Related Problems are Higher Among Beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage Than in Traditional Medicare with Supplemental Coverage, But Highest Among Beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare without Supplemental Coverage

Among people with Medicare, Black beneficiaries are more likely to have cost-related problems with their health care than White beneficiaries, finds a new KFF analysis, with the racial disparity persisting among beneficiaries in both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans.

While 17 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries, or about 1 in 6, reported health care cost-related problems in 2018, the rate among Black beneficiaries was double that among White beneficiaries (28% vs. 14%), according to the analysis of data from the 2018 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS).

Among Medicare Advantage enrollees,...

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