In comparison with the full population of elderly Medicare beneficiaries (47), this sample of home care patients was older (24% versus 11% were 85 years old or older), disproportionately female (65% versus 57%), and more likely to live in poverty (26% versus 11%) but similar in racial/ ethnic distribution. Compared with all Medicare beneficiaries, these home care patients were more than twice as likely to report at least one disability in activities of daily living (55% versus 23%)