ATLANTA—Trella Health, a provider of market intelligence and integrated customer relationship management solutions, released a special edition report, which revealed declining access to home health agencies among Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries.
The report investigated trends that shape home health accessibility, as well as how the expanding Medicare-eligible population often strains access to home health services.
A few key insights from the report are listed below.
- In 2023, 49.9% of counties had five or fewer home health agencies per 1,000 square miles.
- In the post-pandemic period, 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.
- Between 2017 and 2023, the number of home health visits per patient day decreased by 17.3%.
"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," said Carter Bakkum, senior data analyst at Trella Health. "This report underscores the urgent need for health care leaders to address these disparities and ensure that Medicare beneficiaries receive the care they need."
The full special edition report is available for download here.
