The researchers, J. Michael McWilliams, MD; Ellen Meara, PhD; Alan M. Zaslavsky, PhD; and John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP, studied the use of health services by previously uninsured Medicare beneficiaries. The article was published in the July 12, 2007, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The group hypothesized that adults entering the Medicare system at age 65 who were previously uninsured would have more health problems and require more and costlier care than they would have had they previously been insured. Among adults with hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, or stroke diagnosed before age 65, the HCP researchers found this hypothesis to be borne out.

This finding has important implications for the nation’s health care system. The costs of expanding health insurance coverage to include uninsured adults before they reach age 65—and thus enter the Medicare program—may be partially offset by reductions in costs for these individuals later in life.

The release of this study was covered by several media outlets, including Harvard Medical School’s Focus, the New York Times, American Public Media’s Marketplace, Reuters, HealthDay.com, Bloomberg.com, and the Boston Globe.