Newly released federal data provides a snapshot of how Medicare beneficiaries used preventive health services and dietary supplements in 2024, offering insight into health behaviors across age groups, medical conditions, and overall health status.
The 2024 Use of Preventive Care Services Among Medicare Beneficiaries Early Release Public Use File (PUF) outlines how often Medicare recipients accessed preventive services during the year. The data focuses primarily on annual wellness visits and blood pressure screenings, two key measures used to identify health risks early and manage chronic conditions before they worsen.
According to the dataset, preventive care usage is summarized by demographic factors, the presence of chronic health conditions, and self-reported health status. The aggregated format allows policymakers, researchers, and health providers to identify trends in preventive service use without revealing individual patient information.
You can view the data here.
A second dataset, the 2024 Vitamin and Dietary Supplement Use Among Medicare Beneficiaries Early Release PUF, examines how often Medicare beneficiaries reported using vitamins and dietary supplements throughout the year. This release includes information on multivitamin use as well as specific supplements such as vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and saw palmetto.
Like the preventive care dataset, supplement use data is aggregated by demographics, chronic condition status, and overall health. The information offers insight into how older adults may be supplementing their diets alongside traditional medical care, particularly those managing long-term health conditions.
You can view the data here.
Together, the two datasets provide an early look at health maintenance behaviors among Medicare beneficiaries in 2024. Federal officials note that preventive care and informed supplement use can play an important role in early detection of health issues and in supporting overall wellness among older adults.
The Early Release PUFs are intended to support research, program planning, and policy development while maintaining privacy protections. Additional analyses and detailed reports are expected following the full public release of the datasets.
