Home Health Use Declined Among Medicare FFS Beneficiaries But Increased Among Medicare Advantage Members Between 2010 & 2020

Home health use decreased among traditional Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries for both community-initiated and post-discharge needs between 2010 and 2020. During the same period, community-initiated home health use increased among Medicare Advantage enrollees. Increases in community-initiated home health use were concentrated in non-dually eligible beneficiaries.

Among traditional Medicare beneficiaries, the rate of community-initiated home health episodes declined from 13.4 episodes per 1,000 enrolled beneficiaries in the first quarter of 2010 to 12.7 episodes per 1,000 enrollees in the first quarter of 2020. The rate of post-acute episodes . . .