Uncovering the Interplay of Demographics and Healthcare Provider Availability on CMS HCC Risk Scores for Disabled Beneficiaries

This study illuminates the impact of demographic characteristics and the availability of healthcare providers on the CMS HCC risk score for disabled beneficiaries. Capitalizing on county-level data from 587 US counties, we investigated the influence of various demographic variables including population, household median income, unemployment rate, the proportion of older adults, population with a disability, educational attainment, insurance coverage, and race, alongside healthcare resource-related variables such as the number of primary physicians per 100k population, the percentage of adults with dedicated caregivers, and the number of available Home Health Agencies (HHAs) on CMS HCC disability risk score. The results indicate that race, specifically the African American population, and median household income are pivotal in influencing the risk scores. Additionally, the number of HHAs and the proportion of adults with dedicated caregivers emerged as crucial factors. This research underlines the need for a multi-faceted approach to healthcare resource allocation and interventions, taking into account both demographic characteristics and care provider availability, to optimize health outcomes for disabled individuals.

In IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics