Dual Eligibility, Selection of Skilled Nursing Facility, and Length of Medicare Paid Postacute Stay

作者：Rahman Momotazur^*; Gozalo Pedro; Tyler Denise; Grabowski David C; Trivedi Amal; Mor Vincent

来源：Medical Care Research and Review, 2014, 71(4): 384-401.

DOI：10.1177/1077558714533824

• dual eligibility
• skilled nursing facility care
• care utilization

Medicare and Medicaid dual-eligible beneficiaries use more medical care and experience worse health outcomes than Medicare-only beneficiaries. This article points to a possible inefficiency in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) admission process, specifically that patients and SNFs are partially matched based on dual-eligibility status, and investigates its influence on patients' SNF length of stay. Using a set of fee-for-service beneficiaries newly admitted for Medicare-paid SNF care, we document two findings: (1) compared with Medicare-only patients, dual-eligibles are more likely to be discharged to SNFs with low nurse-to-patient ratios and (2) dual-eligibles are more likely to become long-stay nursing home residents than Medicare-only beneficiaries if treated in SNFs with low nurse-to-patient ratios. We conclude that changes in the current SNF care referral process have the potential to reduce excess SNF utilization by dual-eligible beneficiaries and could help reduce spending by both Medicare and Medicaid.

• 出版日期2014-8