Importance Older adults in Medicare Advantage (MA) enroll in hospice at higher rates than
those in traditional Medicare (TM), but it is unclear whether the pathway of care prior to …

Objectives To compare the quality of end‐of‐life care in Medicare Advantage (MA) and
traditional Medicare (TM), specifically, receipt and length of hospice care. Design …

OBJECTIVES: To examine national variation in use of the Medicare hospice benefit by older
individuals before their death, and to identify individual characteristics and local market …

Background: Home health agencies (HHAs) are often affiliated with hospice agencies and
commonly care for patients with serious illness within the Medicare program. HHAs may …

Objective: To examine whether patterns of hospice use by older Medicare beneficiaries are
consistent with the differing financial incentives in Medicare managed care (MC) and feefor …

Importance Use of hospice has been demonstrated to be cost saving to the Medicare
program and yet the extent to which hospice saves money across all payers, including …

Background: Little is known about state-level variation in patterns of hospice use, an
important indicator of quality of care at the end of life. Findings may identify states where …

Despite its demonstrated potential to both improve quality of care and lower costs, the
Medicare hospice benefit has been seen as producing savings only for patients enrolled 53 …

Objectives: Prior studies associate hospice use with reduced hospitalization and spending
at the end of life based on all Medicare hospice beneficiaries. In this study, we examine the …

Hospices have been expected to reduce health expenditures since their addition to the US
Medicare benefit package in the early-1980s, but the literature on their ability to do so is …