Trends in hospital discharge outcomes among high-risk Medicare beneficiaries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Medicare beneficiaries face significant health risks and care disruptions during public health emergencies, but little is known about how care patterns evolved throughout the COVID-19 pandemic or differed between traditional Medicare (TM) and Medicare Advantage (MA).

Methods

Using Medicare claims data for over 20 million hospital discharges during 2018-2022, we examined trends in hospital length of stay, discharge disposition, and mortality among beneficiaries with 5 major comorbidities (dementia, diabetes, congestive heart failure, hip fracture, and stroke), stratified by COVID status and payer type.

Results

We found that COVID patients initially experienced substantially longer hospital stays (8.3 vs 4.6 days) and higher 30-day mortality (34% vs 5%) com

SUBMITTER: Roberts AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11970246 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature