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Vulnerable Populations – Electricity-Dependent Medicare Beneficiaries

This indicator reports the number and percentage of Medicare Beneficiaries who live independently and rely on electricity-dependent durable medical and assistive equipment and devices, and/or certain essential health care services. These populations may need special considerations in the event of an incident, emergency, or disaster. Understanding the distribution of these populations in and around a community provides key information to enhance planning and response activities to support continuity of care, and reduce health system surge.

Source

HHS emPOWER, 2024.

Source Description

The HHS emPOWER Program is a mission-critical partnership between the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The HHS emPOWER Program provides federal data, mapping, and artificial intelligence tools, as well as training and resources, to help communities nationwide protect the health of at-risk Medicare beneficiaries, including 4.5 million individuals who live independently and rely on electricity-dependent durable medical and assistive equipment and devices, and/or certain essential health care services.

The HHS emPOWER Emergency Planning De-identified Dataset provides monthly updated de-identified totals at the state, territory, county and ZIP Code levels for Medicare beneficiaries who are currently enrolled in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service Medicare Fee-For-Service (Parts A/B) and Medicare Advantage (Part C) Programs. The dataset also provides the total number of Medicare beneficiaries who have had an administrative claim for one or more types of electricity-dependent durable medical and assistive equipment (DME) and devices, certain essential health care services, as well as at-risk combinations data for those who rely on a certain essential health care service(s) and any electricity-dependent DME and devices. Detailed instructions on how to access and use the HHS emPOWER Emergency Planning De-identified Dataset are included in the HHS emPOWER Emergency Planning De-identified Dataset Job Aid, which is available in the Resources box on this page.

For more information, please see the HHS emPOWER web page.

Methodology

This indicator reports the number and percentage of at-risk Medicare beneficiaries due to dependency on electricity-dependent medical equipment. Data are based on the number of beneficiaries with claims in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) databases for: ventilator, bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machine, enteral feeding machine, intravenous (IV) infusion pump, suction pump, at-home dialysis machine, electric wheelchair, electric scooter, and electric bed equipment in the past 13 months; oxygen concentrator equipment in the past 36 months; and implanted cardiac devices that include left ventricular assistive device (LVAD), right ventricular assistive device (RVAD), bi-ventricular assistive device (BIVAD), and total artificial heart (TAH) in the past 5 years.

Indicator data also display the number of beneficiaries with electicity-dependent DME and select health care services:

  • The “In-Facility ESRD Dialysis Any DME” option displays beneficiaries who receive in-facility End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) dialysis treatment services and use one or more types of the electricity-dependent DME and devices.
  • The “O2 Services Any DME” option displays individuals who receive home oxygen tank service delivery and use one or more types of the electricity-dependent DME and devices.
  • The “Home Health Services Any DME” option displays individuals who receive home health care services and use one or more types of the electricity-dependent DME and devices.
  • The “At-Home Hospice Any DME” option displays individuals who receive at-home hospice care and use one or more types of the electricity-dependent DME and devices.
  • The “Any Healthcare Service Any DME” option displays individuals who receive any health care service(s) and use one or more types of the electricity-dependent DME and devices.

Data Breakouts Available

  • Vulnerable Medicare Beneficiaries and Select Health Care Services
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This indicator is available at the following subscription levels:

  • Premium (currently viewing this indicator and report combination)