Table 17. Aged beneficiaries use of Medicare inpatient hospital and skilled nursing facility services: 1967-83.
| Year | Number of Part A aged enrollees in millions July 1 | Short-stay hospital | Skilled nursing facility | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|||||||
| Number of discharges in millions | Number of days of care in millions | Average length of stay in days | Number of discharges per 1,000 enrollees | Number of days of care per 1,000 enrollees | Number of days of care in millions | Number of days of care per 1,000 enrollees | ||
| 1967 | 19.5 | 5.2 | 68.5 | 13.1 | 268 | 3,513 | – | – |
| 1968 | 19.8 | 5.6 | 75.6 | 13.4 | 285 | 3,823 | – | – |
| 1969 | 20.0 | 5.9 | 79.0 | 13.5 | 292 | 3,947 | 17.6 | 878 |
| 1970 | 20.4 | 6.0 | 77.4 | 13.0 | 292 | 3,800 | 10.7 | 525 |
| 1971 | 20.7 | 6.1 | 76.1 | 12.5 | 294 | 3,670 | 7.5 | 361 |
| 1972 | 21.1 | 6.4 | 77.2 | 12.1 | 302 | 3,656 | 6.6 | 314 |
| 1973 | 21.6 | 6.8 | 79.0 | 11.7 | 313 | 3,661 | 8.5 | 395 |
| 1974 | 22.0 | 7.0 | 80.9 | 11.5 | 320 | 3,677 | 8.7 | 395 |
| 1975 | 22.5 | 7.3 | 81.6 | 11.2 | 324 | 3,631 | 8.6 | 382 |
| 1976 | 22.9 | 7.6 | 84.4 | 11.1 | 332 | 3,684 | 9.4 | 410 |
| 1977 | 23.5 | 7.9 | 87.0 | 11.0 | 334 | 3,705 | 9.3 | 396 |
| 1978 | 24.0 | 8.1 | 88.6 | 10.8 | 339 | 3,692 | 8.6 | 360 |
| 1979 | 24.5 | 8.5 | 91.2 | 10.7 | 345 | 3,717 | 8.0 | 328 |
| 1980 | 25.1 | 9.1 | 96.8 | 10.8 | 361 | 3,855 | 8.0 | 318 |
| 1981 | 25.6 | 9.4 | 98.2 | 10.4 | 367 | 3,838 | 8.3 | 323 |
| 1982 | 26.1 | 9.8 | 100.4 | 10.2 | 376 | 3,846 | 8.4 | 322 |
| 1983 | 26.7 | 10.2 | 99.7 | 9.6 | 381 | 3,740 | 8.8 | 329 |
Source: Health Care Financing Administration, Bureau of Data Management and Strategy: Data from the Medicare Statistical System.