Longitudinal Analysis of Patient Satisfaction among Medicare Beneficiaries in Different Models of Health Maintenance Organizations and Fee-for-Service Care

Abstract

Based on a randomly selected nationwide sample of Medicare beneficiaries, this study analyzes changes in patient satisfaction over a one year period for beneficiaries receiving care in a variety of delivery settings: fee for service, group model HMO, staff model HMO, and Independent Practice Association model HMO. The findings reveal the patient satisfaction changes significantly over a one year period, from lower levels of satisfaction to higher levels of satisfaction. The primary explanation for this change in satisfaction is a decline in health status over the same one year period. Additional differences in satisfaction with care were observed for Medicare beneficiaries served by different types of delivery settings with varying degrees of utilization controls.