Traditional Medicare Episode-Related Spending on Postacute Care for Dual-Eligible and Medicare-Only Beneficiaries, 2009–2017.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Keohane, Laura M.; Kripalani, Sunil; Stevenson, David G.; Buntin, Melinda B.
- Source
- Medical Care Research & Review. Feb2023, Vol. 80 Issue 1, p92-100. 9p.
- Subject
- *MEDICARE
*MEDICAID beneficiaries
*MEDICAID
*MEDICARE beneficiaries
*BENEFICIARIES
- Language
- ISSN
- 1077-5587
Dual-eligible beneficiaries with Medicare and Medicaid coverage generally have greater utilization and spending levels than Medicare-only beneficiaries on postacute services, raising questions about how strategies to curb postacute spending will affect dual-eligible beneficiaries. We compared trends in postacute spending and use related to inpatient episodes at a population and episode level for dual-eligible and Medicare-only beneficiaries over the years 2009–2017. Although dual-eligible beneficiaries had consistently higher inpatient and postacute service use and spending than Medicare-only populations, both populations experienced similar declines in inpatient and postacute measures over time. Conditional on having an inpatient stay, most types of postacute service use increased regardless of dual-eligible status. These consistent patterns in episode-related postacute spending for Medicare-only and dual-eligible beneficiaries—decreased episode-related spending and use on a per beneficiary basis and increased use and spending on a per episode basis—suggest that changing patterns of care affect both populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]