Comparing Medicare Advantage And Fee-For-Service Medicare Suggests Opportunities For Savings In Hospitalization, Postacute Care

Health Affairs April 9, 2020
Jean Fuglesten Biniek, Aaron Bloschichak, Sally Rodriguez, Anne Tumlinson, Brian Fuller

New analysis from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) has found important differences in inpatient hospital and postacute care use between Medicare Advantage (MA) plan enrollees and Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Across selected conditions and over time, Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in MA have fewer inpatient hospital stays than beneficiaries in fee-for-service. After an inpatient stay, MA enrollees are less likely to be discharged to any postacute care setting, and when they are, they are much less likely to be discharged directly to one of the two most expensive postacute settings: inpatient rehabilitation facilities or long-term acute care hospitals (LTCHs).

The trend MA and fee-for-service beneficiaries have in common, however, is a decline in skilled nursing facility (SNF) use as the first...

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