Characteristics and Service Use of Medicare Beneficiaries Using Federally Qualified Health Centers

BACKGROUND:Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) provide primary care for millions of Americans, but little is known about Medicare beneficiaries who use FQHCs. OBJECTIVE:To compare patient characteristics and health care service use among Medicare beneficiaries stratified by FQHC use. RESEARCH DESIGN:Cross-sectional analysis of 2011 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged 65 years and older. SUBJECTS:Subjects included beneficiaries with at least 1 evaluation and management (E&M) visit in 2011, categorized as FQHC users (≥1 E&M visit to FQHCs) or nonusers living in the same primary care service areas as FQHC users. Users were subclassified as predominant if the majority of their E&M visits were to FQHCs. MEASURES:Demographic characteristics, physician visits, and inpatient care use. RESULTS:Most FQHC users (56.6%) were predominant users. Predominant and nonpredominant users, compared with nonusers, markedly differed by prevalence of multiple chronic conditions (18.2%, 31.7% vs. 22.7%) and annual mortality (2.8%, 3.8% vs. 4.0%; all P