Medicaid spenddown among nursing home residents in Wisconsin

We examined Medicaid spenddown among nursing home residents from 72 facilities in Wisconsin during 1988. Results indicate that only a small proportion (12%) of discharges from these facilities had spent down to Medicaid eligibility. This represents about one-fourth (23%) of persons who had been admitted private pay. Moreover, we estimated that over 40% of those who spent down to Medicaid did so within 6 months, 58% spent down within a year, and 76% spent down within 2 years. Even though a relatively small percentage of residents spent down, this group had very long stays (median stay greater than 3 years) and thus contributed quite heavily to nursing home days.