Study Finds Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Use Fewer Post-Acute Care Days With Equal or Better Outcomes

Postacute Care Use and Outcomes Among Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare Beneficiaries

The MA beneficiaries exhibited greater reductions in postacute care use compared with TM beneficiaries, including 6.3 fewer days in SNFs (95% CI, -6.8 to -5.8 days) and 3.6 fewer days in home health (95% CI, -4.3 to -2.9 days). Medicare Advantage enrollees also experienced a 1.5-percentage point lower probability of readmission (95% CI, -1.8 to -1.2 percentage points) and spent more time in the community in the first 100 days after hospital discharge (difference, 1.9 days; 95% CI, 1.7-2.2 days) than TM beneficiaries. Medicare Advantage beneficiaries also experienced a slightly lower mortality (difference, -0.3 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.6 to -0.1 percentage points) compared with TM beneficiaries, as well as modest functional gains (difference in 30-day activities of daily living improvement, 2.5 percentage points; 95% CI, 1.7-3.4 percentage points).

— JAMA Network Open, October 1, 2025

Roy, Indrakshi, et al. “Postacute Care Use and Outcomes Among Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare Beneficiaries.” JAMA Network Open, 1 Oct. 2025. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2840679.

Less Postacute Care for Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Does Not Mean Worse Health

Traditional Medicare may be paying for unnecessary care after hospitalizations, a new LDI study reports. Compared to people covered by traditional fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries used less postacute care, including fewer days in skilled nursing facilities, without experiencing higher mortality or readmission rates. The results suggest that postacute care under traditional Medicare could be reduced by adopting care and payment patterns similar to those used in Medicare Advantage.

— Penn Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, October 30, 2025