Report

Home Health Accessibility Among Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Beneficiaries

An Analysis of the Key Trends Shaping Access to Care for Medicare Patients

By Carter Bakkum | December 13, 2024

This report investigates trends shaping home health accessibility, revealing how the expanding Medicare-eligible population – and other factors – continues to strain access to home health services.

Below are a few key insights from this special report:

  • 49.9% of counties had five or fewer home health agencies per 1,000 square miles in 2023.
  • 94.1% of counties experienced either a decrease or no change in the number of skilled home health agencies treating more than 10 FFS patients in the post-pandemic period.
  • 83.3% of counties experienced a decrease in the number of FFS home health admissions per 1,000 beneficiaries in the post-pandemic period.
  • 87.4% of counties experienced a decrease in the average number of home health visits in the post-pandemic period, and the number of home health visits per patient day decreased by 17.3% between 2017 and 2023.

“Our analysis of Medicare Fee-for-Service claims indicates a concerning trend: decreasing accessibility to skilled home health care at a time when we are experiencing the largest growth in the Medicare population,” stated Carter Bakkum, Senior Data Analyst at Trella Health. “This report underscores the urgent need for healthcare leaders to address these disparities and ensure that Medicare beneficiaries receive the care they need.”

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Carter Bakkum - Senior Data Science Analyst
Carter Bakkum

Carter is a senior data analyst who works to turn complex, messy data into actionable intelligence. Carter studied economics and statistics at the University of Virginia before joining an economic consulting firm, where he supported expert testifying economic witnesses on behalf of fortune 500 healthcare companies. After the significant changes in the importance of data analytics during the pandemic, Carter joined the Trella team to dive deeper into the numbers to uncover the stories that drive our experience.

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About the Author:

Carter Bakkum, Senior Data Analyst, Healthcare Insights

Carter is a senior data analyst who works to turn complex, messy data into actionable intelligence. Carter studied economics and statistics at the University of Virginia before joining an economic consulting firm, where he supported expert testifying economic witnesses on behalf of fortune 500 healthcare companies. After the significant changes in the importance of data analytics during the pandemic, Carter joined the Trella team to dive deeper into the numbers to uncover the stories that drive our experience.