Report Summarizes Medicare Data for Minnesota

Published Monday, April 23, 2012

Stratis Health Releases Report: Profile of Medicare in Minnesota

The Stratis Health Profile of Medicare in Minnesota gathers in one place information and resources about the Medicare program in the state. It provides a picture of who is receiving medical services through Medicare, what the 65 and older population in Minnesota looks like, health status and quality of care information, and information on the major types of Medicare health care providers in Minnesota.

Excerpts from the report include:

• Medicare enrollment in Minnesota parallels overall enrollment in the U.S., at 15 percent of the population, or a total of 789,263 Medicare beneficiaries in Minnesota.
• In Minnesota, 44.4 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage programs, substantially higher than the national average of 25.6 percent. Minnesota's high level of Medicare managed care has a number of implications for the state.
• While 30 percent of the state's total population lives in rural Minnesota, 41 percent of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older live in rural areas.

Stratis Health is pleased to provide this report on Minnesota's Medicare services, beneficiaries, and providers. The report is intended as a high level, overview resource for health care provider organizations, health care professionals, Medicare consumers, advocates, researchers, and others interested in Medicare in Minnesota.

Information for the report has been gathered from a variety of sources, starting with Medicare enrollment and claims data available to Stratis Health through our work as the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) serving Minnesota. This data has been supplemented with information from a variety of sources to help give a more complete picture of Medicare in the state.

As Minnesota's Medicare Quality Improvement Organization, Stratis Health has access to Medicare enrollment and claims data for fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries in Minnesota, as well as statewide rates and information available through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). These data, presented in aggregate, have been supplemented with information from a variety of sources to provide a more complete picture of Medicare in Minnesota.

Download Profile of Medicare in Minnesota (26-page PDF)