DataPoint: Medicare Post-Acute Care Spending

According to MedPAC’s June 2018 "Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program" Data Book, the number of post-acute care providers nationwide remained stable in 2017, increasing 1.3 percent over 2016. The total number of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) increased 0.2 percent from 2013 to 2017. During the same period, and after several years of growth, the number of home health agencies declined 1.6 percent. Nationwide, post-acute care also saw fee-for-service (FFS) costs slow since 2011 with the expansion of managed care under Medicare Advantage. Overall post-acute care FFS spending increased significantly in 2011, but spending dropped in 2012 and has since stabilized. In 2016, not-for-profit SNFs accounted for 23 percent of post-acute care facilities and 24 percent of Medicare stays while only representing 21 percent of Medicare payments.

The entire MedPAC report includes additional data on SNF admissions and home care spending and is available here.

Contact: Ken Allison, kallison@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8820