Importance: More than 1 million US veterans are dually enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan and in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. The federal government prepays private MA plans to cover veterans; if a dually enrolled veteran receives an MA-covered service at the VA, the government is making 2 payments for the same service. It is not clear what proportion of veterans dually enrolled in VA and MA are undergoing coronary revascularization at VA vs non-VA hospitals.
Objective: To describe where veterans who are enrolled in both VA and MA undergo coronary revascularization and the associated costs.
Design, settings, and participants: This is a cohort study consisting of US veterans dually enrolled in VA and MA from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2013, who had at least 1 VA encounter and underwent coronary revascularization during the study period. Data were analyzed from April 2019 to September 2019.
Main outcomes and measures: Number of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) operations and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) performed through the VA and through MA during years 2010 to 2013, and the associated VA costs of coronary revascularization. In addition, multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess patient factors associated with receiving care through the VA.
Results: A total of 18 874 VA users with concurrent MA enrollment who underwent coronary revascularization during 2010 to 2013 were identified (mean [SD] age, 75.3 [8.8] years; 18 739 men [99.0%]). Enrollees were predominantly white (17 457 patients [92.0%]). Among patients, 4115 (22.0%) underwent either CABG or PCI through the VA only, 14 281 (75.0%) did so through MA only, and 478 (2.5%) underwent coronary revascularization procedures through both payers. From 2010 to 2013, these veterans underwent 4764 coronary revascularization procedures (721 CABGs and 3043 PCIs) that cost the VA $214.7 million ($115.8 million for CABGs and $99.0 million for PCIs). In multivariable analysis, nonwhite patients were more likely than white patients to undergo coronary revascularization through the VA (odds ratio, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.52-1.96; P < .001), and for each year of age, veterans were less likely to undergo coronary revascularization through the VA (odds ratio, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.94-0.95; P < .001). There was no statistically significant association between undergoing coronary vascularization through the VA and distance in miles to the nearest VA hospital (odds ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.99-1.00; P = .30).
Conclusions and relevance: A substantial share of VA users concurrently enrolled in an MA plan underwent coronary revascularization procedures through the VA, incurring significant duplicative federal health care spending. Given the financial pressures facing both Medicare and the VA, government officials should consider policy solutions to mitigate redundant spending.