Medicare Advantage Enrollment in Nursing Homes: 2010-2023.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
BACKGROUND: Medicare Advantage (MA) plans now cover 54% of all Medicare beneficiaries. However, MA is understudied in the nursing home population. We analyzed MA enrollment trends and resident and facility characteristics from 2010 through 2023. METHODS: We calculated the point prevalence of MA enrollment for long-stay nursing home residents, short-stay residents, and all other Medicare beneficiaries from 2010 to 2023, and compared variation in MA growth at the state level between long-stay residents and the general Medicare population. We analyzed how the composition of Traditional Medicare- and MA-enrolled long-stay residents changed over time, changes in special needs plan (SNP) enrollment, and nursing home quality for MA enrollees. We also tracked monthly MA enrollment rates among nursing home residents before and after they became long-stay. RESULTS: MA enrollment among long-stay residents increased from 12.9% in 2010 to 36.5% in 2023, a 183% increase, outpacing the growth rate among the overall Medicare population. There was substantial geographic variation in MA growth between long-stay residents and others across states. Enrollment in Institutional SNPs grew substantially, accounting for about 35% of MA enrollment among long-stay residents. Dual-Eligible SNP enrollment also accounted for a substantial proportion among MA long-stay residents, ranging between 12% and 20% across years. Long-stay residents covered by Traditional Medicare and MA showed comparable clinical characteristics and had similar shares residing in high-quality nursing homes. Disenrollment from MA sharply increased as beneficiaries entered nursing homes for long-term care. CONCLUSIONS: The substantial growth in MA enrollment among long-stay nursing home residents, coupled with the notable geographic variation and disenrollment, underscores the importance of recognizing that not all beneficiary groups experience MA in the same way. Targeted monitoring is needed to ensure that MA plans adequately address the care needs of this high-risk population.
