Medicare-certified home health services: national and regional supply in the 1980s.

The number of Medicare-certified home health agencies nearly doubled from 1980 to 1990. Using Health Care Financing Administration data, this study documented national and regional patterns of entry and exist by Medicare home health providers from 1980 to 1990. Nationally, agency origination rates accelerated during the early 1980s and then dropped abruptly in the second half of the decade. The proprietary sector, accounting for approximately 42% of agencies in existence during the period of the study, exhibited the greatest volatility. Regional differences are also evident. Both expansion and contraction in Medicare home health services appear to be a response to the incentives of legislation implemented during this period.