Racial and Ethnic Differences in Hospice Use Among Medicaid-Only and Dual-Eligible Decedents

Hospice care enhances quality of life for people with terminal illness and is most beneficial with longer length of stay (LOS). Most hospice research focuses on the Medicare-insured population. Little is known about hospice use for the racially and ethnically diverse, low-income Medicaid population.

To compare hospice use and hospice LOS by race and ethnicity among Medicaid-only individuals and those with dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid (duals) in the Connecticut Medicaid program who died over a 4-year period.

This retrospective population-based cohort study used Medicaid and traditional Medicare enrollment and claims data for 2015 to 2020. The study included Connecticut Medicaid recipients with at least 1 of 5 most common hospice diagnoses who died from 2017 to 2020.

Race and ethnicity.

Hospice use (yes/no) and hospice LOS (1-7 days vs ≥8 days.) Covariates included sex, age, and nursing facility stay within 60 days of death.

Overall, 2407 and 23 857 duals were included. Medicaid-only decedents were younger (13.8% ≥85 vs 52.5%), more likely to be male (50.6% vs 36.4%), more racially and ethnically diverse (48.7% non-Hispanic White vs 79.9%), and less likely to have a nursing facility stay (34.9% vs 56.1%). Race and ethnicity were significantly associated with hospice use and LOS in both populations: non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic decedents had lower odds of using hospice than non-Hispanic White decedents, and Hispanic decedents had higher odds of a short LOS. In both populations, older age and female sex were also associated with more hospice use. For duals only, higher age was associated with lower odds of short LOS. For decedents with nursing facility stays, compared with those without, Medicaid-only decedents had higher odds of using hospice (odds ratio [OR], 1.49; 95% CI, 1.24-1.78); duals had lower odds (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.57-0.63). Compared with decedents without nursing facility stays, duals with a nursing facility stay had higher odds of short LOS (OR, 2.63; 95% CI, 2.43-2.85).

Findings raise concerns about equity and timing of access to hospice for Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black individuals in these understudied Medicaid populations. Knowledge about, access to, and acceptance of hospice may be lacking for these low-income individuals. Further research is needed to understand barriers to and facilitators of hospice use for people with nursing facility stays.