Medicare-Covered Services Near the End of Life in Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare

Medicare-Covered Services Near the End of Life in Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare
JAMA Health Forum; by Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Stacy M Fischer, Alicia I Arbaje, Marcelo Coca Perraillon, Christine D Jones, Daniel Polsky; 7/24
Financial incentives in Medicare Advantage (MA), the managed care alternative to traditional Medicare (TM), were designed to reduce overutilization. For patients near the end of life (EOL), MA incentives may reduce potentially burdensome care and encourage hospice but could also restrict access to costly but necessary services. MA enrollment was associated with lower rates of potentially burdensome and facility-based care near the EOL. Greater use of home-based care may improve quality of care but may also leave patients without adequate assistance after hospitalization.