The contributions of survey-based versus administrative measures of socioeconomic status in predicting type of post-acute care for hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries.

OBJECTIVES

To assess and compare the associations between socioeconomic status (SES) measures from two sources (claims vs. survey data) and the type of post-acute care (PAC) locations following hospital discharge.

METHODS

This observational study included Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) beneficiaries age 65.5 years or older who participated in the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) and were hospitalized in 2006-2011. Multiple data sets were used including: Area Deprivation Index; Medicare Cost Reports, Provider of Services files, and Area Health Resource File. Multinomial regression models estimated associations between beneficiary's SES and PAC type. SES measures came from surveys (income and education) and administrative records (dual enrollment and area deprivation). PAC types included home with self-care, home health agency, skilled nursing facility (SNF), or inpatient rehabilitation facility.

RESULTS

Low income and dual enrollment were associated with higher SNF use while living in a deprived area was associated with lower SNF use and higher use of home with self-care. Dual enrollment and area deprivation were associated with the largest differences.

CONCLUSIONS

If policies to modify payment based on SES are considered, administrative measures (dual enrollment and area deprivation) rather than survey measures (education and income) may be sufficient.