Differences in Home Health Services for Medicare Advantage Plans
Author Information
Author(s): Rachel Prusynski, Anthony D’Alonzo, Michael Johnson
Primary Institution: University of Washington
Hypothesis
Patients with Medicare Advantage plans have different outcomes based on the payment structure of their home health services.
Conclusion
Medicare Advantage plans with episodic payments provide fewer home health services and mixed outcomes compared to Traditional Medicare, while per-visit plans have higher rates of inpatient admissions.
Supporting Evidence
- Patients with episodic MA plans had lower rates of improvement in mobility and self-care compared to TM.
- Patients with per-visit MA plans had higher rates of community discharge than TM.
- Episodic MA plans had fewer administrative restrictions for home health providers.
Takeaway
Older adults with Medicare Advantage plans get less help at home than those with Traditional Medicare, and how they pay for that help can change their health outcomes.
Methodology
The study analyzed 285,297 home health episodes from 2019-2022 using inverse probability of treatment weighting.
Participant Demographics
Older adults receiving home health services.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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