Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Wait Longer for Post-Acute Care

July 08, 2025

If you are a Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollee, you are more likely to experience a longer hospital stay before discharge to a post-acute care facility compared with traditional Medicare enrollees, according to a new analysis by NORC at the University of Chicago.

Researchers were tasked with determining how hospital discharges to post-acute care and preceding hospital length of stay (LOS) differ by Medicare coverage.

Discharge delays remain an operational challenge for Pennsylvania hospitals and have been identified as a factor contributing to delays in care and emergency department overcrowding.

Here are a few key takeaways:

Access Affected:  The analysis found that prior authorization and denials by MA plans may negatively affect access to post-acute services for beneficiaries.

LOS Longer for MA:  Across all post-acute settings, the median LOS for MA beneficiaries was 40 percent higher than for traditional Medicare (7 days versus 5 days).

Variations by Setting:  Compared to traditional Medicare, median LOS for MA beneficiaries was 69 percent longer for discharge to long-term acute care hospitals, 67 percent longer for discharge to inpatient rehabilitation facilities, 50 percent longer for discharge to skilled nursing facilities, and 50 percent longer for discharge to home health agencies.

LOS for MA Increasing:  From 2018–2022, median LOS for MA beneficiaries increased 16 percent across all post-acute settings. By setting, that the increase was 10 percent for discharge to long-term acute care hospitals, 25 percent for discharge to inpatient rehabilitation facilities, 29 percent for discharge to skilled nursing facilities, and 20 percent for discharge to home health agencies.

More Analysis Recommended:  While the data considers age, the study did not factor clinical or demographic differences that could affect length of stay or discharge destination.

Read the report online.