Understanding Longer Hospital Stays for Medicare Advantage Patients
Medicare Advantage (MA) patients are spending more time in the hospital before transitioning to skilled nursing care. According to a June 2026 report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), MA patients had hospital stays that were 11.2% longer on average than patients enrolled in traditional Medicare in fiscal year 2024.
Additionally, ACDIS reported that the number of skilled nursing facilities declined 5%, from 12,720 to 12,050, as median market-level MA penetration for SNFs increased from 2013 to 2024.
For skilled nursing facilities, these trends have implications for care transitions, therapy planning and discharge readiness. As MA enrollment continues to grow, understanding how longer hospital stays affect the patients arriving at your facility can help teams prepare for their needs and coordinate care more effectively.
What Longer Hospital Stays Mean for SNFs
A longer hospital stay can mean a patient arrives at an SNF with greater deconditioning, more complex medical needs or changes in functional status. These factors may influence the level and intensity of therapy needed after admission.
For therapy teams, having a clear picture of the patient's hospital course and current functional abilities is essential. Admission assessments, standardized tests and clinical documentation can help establish an appropriate baseline and guide the plan of care.
Longer hospital stays also make effective discharge planning more important. SNFs need to understand not only why a patient was hospitalized, but also what changed during the hospitalization and what barriers may affect the patient's ability to return home.
Communication Is Key to a Successful Transition
The transition from hospital to SNF can involve multiple providers, clinical teams and pieces of information. Gaps in communication can make it harder for SNFs to prepare for an admission or identify potential challenges early.
Clear communication between hospitals, referral sources and SNF teams can provide valuable insight into a patient's clinical history, functional status, medications, therapy needs and discharge goals. Having this information before or at admission gives care teams a stronger foundation for developing an individualized plan.
Use Data to Understand Your MA Population
The continued growth of Medicare Advantage also makes it increasingly important for SNFs to understand their own referral and patient populations. Analytics can help organizations identify trends in MA penetration, referral sources, hospital utilization and patient characteristics.
These insights can help leaders answer important questions:
Which hospitals are sending the most MA patients?
How is the clinical complexity of referred patients changing?
Are certain referral sources associated with longer hospital stays?
How can therapy and clinical teams prepare for the needs of these patients?
Where could communication or coordination between referral partners improve?
Turning this information into action can help SNFs make more informed decisions about staffing, therapy resources and care coordination.
Preparing for What Comes Next
Longer hospital stays are one part of a larger shift in the Medicare Advantage landscape. As MA enrollment continues to influence post-acute care, SNFs need both clinical insight and reliable data to understand how these changes affect their patients and operations.
Better analytics can reveal where patients are coming from and what trends are developing. Better communication can help teams act on those insights and support smoother transitions.
For SNFs, understanding the changing MA population isn't just about tracking trends. It's about using those insights to prepare for better care.
Contact Health Advisory Partners today to learn how data-driven insights and expert guidance can help your team strengthen care coordination and better prepare for the evolving Medicare Advantage landscape.