@article{9194e61b0ff14267831298985a1a4299,
title = "Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare Hospitalization Intensity and Readmissions",
abstract = "Medicare Advantage plans have incentives and tools to optimize patient care. Therefore, Medicare Advantage hospitalizations may have lower cost and higher quality than similar traditional Medicare hospitalizations. We applied a coarsened matching approach to 2013 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project hospital discharge data from 22 states to compare hospital cost, length of stay, and readmissions for Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage. We found that Medicare Advantage hospitalizations were substantially less expensive and shorter for mental health stays but costlier and longer for injury and surgical stays. We found little difference in the cost and length of medical stays and in readmission rates. One explanation is that Medicare Advantage plans use outpatient settings for many patients with behavioral health conditions and for injury and surgical patients with less complex health needs. Alternatively, the observed differences in behavioral health cost and length of stay may represent skimping on appropriate care.",
keywords = "hospitalizations, length of stay, managed care, medicare Advantage, readmissions",
author = "Henke, {Rachel Mosher} and Zeynal Karaca and Gibson, {Teresa B.} and Eli Cutler and Barrett, {Marguerite L.} and Katharine Levit and Jayne Johann and Nicholas, {Lauren Hersch} and Wong, {Herbert S.}",
note = "Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) under contract no. HHSA-290-2013-00002-C to Truven Health Analytics to develop and support the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). Funding Information: We acknowledge Nils Nordstrom and Minya Sheng for expert programming and Paige Jackson and Linda Lee for editorial assistance. We also acknowledge the following HCUP Partners: Arizona Department of Health Services, California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, Connecticut Hospital Association, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Georgia Hospital Association, Hawaii Health Information Corporation, Iowa Hospital Association, Kansas Hospital Association, Kentucky: Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission, Michigan Health & Hospital Association, Minnesota Hospital Association, MHA?An Association of Montana Health Care Providers, Nevada Center for Health Information Analysis, New Jersey Department of Health, North Dakota, New York State Department of Health, Ohio Hospital Association, Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, Rhode Island Department of Health, South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations, Tennessee Hospital Association, Texas Health Care Information Collection, Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, West Virginia Health Care Authority, and Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) under contract no. HHSA-290-2013-00002-C to Truven Health Analytics to develop and support the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017, The Author(s) 2017.",
year = "2018",
month = aug,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1177/1077558717692103",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "75",
pages = "434--453",
journal = "Medical Care Research and Review",
issn = "1077-5587",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",
number = "4",
}