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Long-term care hospitals under Medicare: facility-level characteristics
K Liu1, C Baseggio, D Wissoker
1kliu@ui.urban.org
Health Care Financing Review
|December 26, 2002
Summary
Long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) are growing rapidly in number and Medicare spending. Most LTCHs specialize in respiratory care or rehabilitation, informing future Medicare payment systems.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Geriatric Medicine
- Health Economics
Background:
- Long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) represent a small but rapidly growing segment of Medicare spending.
- Recent years have seen significant increases in both the number of LTCHs and their associated Medicare expenditures.
- Despite their growth, LTCHs remain understudied, necessitating further characterization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the key characteristics of long-term care hospitals (LTCHs).
- To provide data that can inform the development of a Medicare prospective payment system for LTCHs.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Medicare data to identify and characterize LTCHs.
- Descriptive study focusing on provider types and services offered.
Main Results:
- Most long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) specialize in respiratory care.
- A significant proportion of LTCHs focus on rehabilitation services.
- LTCHs are an increasingly important provider type within the Medicare system.
Conclusions:
- Understanding LTCH characteristics is crucial given their rapid growth and Medicare expenditure.
- Specialization in respiratory care and rehabilitation defines the majority of LTCHs.
- This research provides foundational data for refining Medicare's prospective payment system for LTCHs.