Medicaid-Financed Nursing Home Services: Characteristics of People Served and Their Patterns of Care, 2001-2002

The goal of this study was to describe patterns of Medicaid nursing home utilization for each state and nationally. The authors address three specific research questions in this report: (1) What are the characteristics of people who use Medicaid nursing home services? (2) How do people who use Medicaid nursing home services become eligible for Medicaid? What proportion are long-time Medicaid enrollees entering a nursing home? What proportion are new enrollees? (3) How long do Medicaid-covered nursing home spells last and how often do individuals return to nursing homes? While addressing these questions, the authors also examine how state long-term care policies are associated with variation across states in patterns of nursing home utilization. [63 PDF pages]