Medicare Advantage patients get less home health care: study

Axios reports this morning that Medicare Advantage patients received less home health care and worse outcomes than those with traditional Medicare in a study published in JAMA Health Forum.

They report among other findings that Medicare Advantage patients received “fewer home health visits from nurses, therapists and other classes of providers except social workers — and nearly two fewer days of service between admission and discharge — based on a review of about 285,000 patients who had care between 2019 and 2022.” Their odds of improved mobility after treatment were 3% less than those in traditional Medicare and their higher rates of being discharged “could limit their independence and increase the burden on caregivers.”