Abstract
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.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 92-100 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Medical Care Research and Review |
Volume | 80 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2023 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- dual-eligible population
- health expenditures
- Medicaid
- Medicare
- postacute sector
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health Policy