The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that studies healthcare policy, recently released its state-by-state Medicare scorecards, and Missouri ranks below most states in how well Medicare is serving beneficiaries in the state.
In the new report, Missouri ranks 34th. The scorecard considers multiple measures, which include access to care, quality of care, costs and affordability and population health.
Missouri was among the worst states in the country in regard to long-term nursing home residents on antipsychotic medications.
Kristen Kolb, a Research Associate with the Commonwealth Fund, said this measure is tracked to ensure the proper usage of the medication.
“Like any other medication, we need to make sure things are being tailored to the patient and not being used as substitute for other challenges such as behavior management,” Kolb said.
More than one-in-five Missouri long-term nursing home residents on Medicare were found to be on these medications. It’s about one-in-seven nationally.
Missouri also performed poorly when it came to indicators such as rate of 30-day hospital readmissions among Medicare beneficiaries, seniors who didn't have a dental visit in the past year, and those who reported difficulty with dressing, running errands alone, walking, or concentrating.
But Missouri also performed well in several measures, including a lower rate of adults experiencing food insecurity, as well Medicare beneficiaries with a home health referral who received home health services quickly after being discharged from the hospital.
The state had one of the lowest rates in the country of seniors reporting loneliness or lack of emotional support — ranking 4th overall.
Dr. Joseph Betancourt, the President of The Commonwealth Fund, said loneliness can have a significant impact on physical health.
“There's very significant data that shows that social isolation and loneliness contribute to higher hospitalizations, avoidable hospitalizations and readmissions,” Betancourt said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, social isolation and loneliness can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, anxiety, suicidality and self-harm, and dementia.
Only about 30% of senior Missourians reported being lonely or lacking support. That’s about four percentage points lower than the national average.
