News Report | December 15, 2019
Skilled Nursing Facility Referrals Lower Than Home Health Referrals In Early 2019 Data
More Medicare beneficiaries were discharged to home health than to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019. In 2019, 23.3% of hospitalized beneficiaries were referred to home health for post-acute care, and 21.1% were referred to a SNF. In 2018, 19.85% of discharges were referred to home health and 21.8% of discharges were referred to a SNF. In both years, the remaining beneficiaries were not referred for post-acute care, and instead discharged to the home.
In both 2018 and 2019, nearly half of inpatient . . .