Emilie Duchesneau, PhD, MSPH

Improving Health Research for Older Adults Using New Medicare Advantage Data
Summary
My study aims to improve health research in older adult populations (65+ years) using Medicare data. Medicare, a publicly funded health insurance program for people over 65, has two types of plans: fee-for-service (FFS) and Medicare Advantage. Historically, research based on Medicare data has mostly used FFS data because detailed information for Medicare Advantage plans was not available until 2019. This new Medicare Advantage data could help researchers study more diverse groups of older adults, but its accuracy is uncertain. Our project has two goals. First, we will compare common health conditions and services in older adults, such as chronic conditions, vaccinations, and cancer screening, in FFS and Medicare Advantage plans. We will see whether differences in these conditions and services are due to actual differences between the plans’ populations or how the data are collected. Second, we will check whether methods to identify frailty and dementia in Medicare Advantage data are as accurate as those used in FFS data by comparing them to well-known standards. This research will make aging studies more accurate and inclusive, leading to better health care for all older adults.
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Real-world evidence is needed to understand intervention effects and health outcomes in older adults. Through this PhRMA Foundation award, I will lead innovative research that improves the quality of aging research that leverages real world data, ultimately improving health and well-being in older adults.