Utilization Of Medicare Cognitive Assessments Tripled Between 2018 & 2022

From 2018 to 2021, annual utilization of the cognitive assessment service in traditional Medicare tripled, from 32,099 to 99,720. However, a relatively small number of Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with a cognitive impairment received the service in 2021: at most, about 2.4% of traditional Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder may have received this specific service that year. Certain types of providers (including neurologists, nurse practitioners, internists, family physicians, and geriatricians) delivered more than 80% of the cognitive assessment services, mostly in urban locations. Understanding whether Medicare beneficiaries are getting cognitive . . .