Hospice Medicare Margins: Analysis of Patient and Hospice Characteristics, Utilization, and Cost

Since the early 2000s, hospice use among Medicare beneficiaries has grown rapidly and hospice Medicare margins have generally increased. This report is an analysis of how hospices’ Medicare margins relate to the characteristics of the Medicare patients served and the characteristics of the hospice itself, focusing on hospice ownership status.

This article was commissioned by the National Partnership for Hospice Innovation