Table 1. Summary of Patient Characteristics and Hospice Characteristics Across Eligible Hospice Episodes.
| Characteristic | Patients, % | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008a | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| No. | 383 148 | 802 101 | 839 906 | 873 320 | 909 635 | 944 745 | 949 582 | 992 004 | 1 033 985 | 1 099 699 | 1 132 558 | 1 164 239 |
| Patient age at enrollment, mean (SD), y | 82.0 (8.2) | 82.4 (8.2) | 82.5 (8.3) | 82.6 (8.3) | 82.7 (8.4) | 82.7 (8.5) | 82.7 (8.5) | 82.8 (8.6) | 82.8 (8.6) | 82.8 (8.7) | 82.8 (8.7) | 82.7 (8.7) |
| Female patients | 59.5 | 59.2 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 58.241.2 | 58.5 | 58.2 | 58.1 | 57.9 | 57.7 | 57.5 | 57.3 |
| Male patients | 40.5 | 40.8 | 40.9 | 40.9 | 41.2 | 41.5 | 41.8 | 41.9 | 42.1 | 42.3 | 42.5 | 42.7 |
| Patient race and ethnicity | ||||||||||||
| Black | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| Hispanic | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| White | 88.7 | 88.8 | 88.7 | 88.5 | 88.2 | 87.9 | 87.7 | 87.4 | 86.9 | 86.7 | 86.5 | 86.2 |
| Otherb | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
| Patient had any MA coverage | 24.0 | 24.4 | 24.7 | 25.4 | 26.7 | 28.1 | 3.0 | 32.1 | 33.0 | 35.2 | 37.4 | 39.2 |
| Patient with ADRD | 16.0 | 16.4 | 17.2 | 17.8 | 18.8 | 21.9 | 23.0 | 22.5 | 23.5 | 23.9 | 24.3 | 24.5 |
| Region | ||||||||||||
| Northeast | 15.9 | 16.0 | 16.2 | 16.9 | 16.7 | 16.5 | 16.3 | 16.5 | 15.9 | 15.8 | 15.3 | 14.6 |
| West | 18.9 | 19.0 | 19.3 | 19.9 | 19.6 | 20.3 | 20.4 | 21.1 | 21.0 | 20.9 | 20.6 | 20.8 |
| South | 41.3 | 41.2 | 40.6 | 39.6 | 39.5 | 39.4 | 39.7 | 38.8 | 39.4 | 39.4 | 40.1 | 40.3 |
| Midwest | 23.9 | 23.8 | 24.0 | 23.7 | 24.1 | 23.8 | 23.6 | 23.6 | 23.7 | 24.0 | 24.0 | 24.3 |
| Rurality | ||||||||||||
| Large metropolitan are | 87.3 | 87.4 | 87.5 | 87.6 | 87.5 | 89.1 | 89.2 | 89.2 | 89.4 | 89.3 | 88.8 | 89.0 |
| Urban, adjacent to metropolitan area | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.5 |
| Urban, nonadjacent to metropolitan area | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
| Rural | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Hospice ownership | ||||||||||||
| For-profit | 43.5 | 43.7 | 45.5 | 46.9 | 48.7 | 49.6 | 50.5 | 51.3 | 51.5 | 49.7 | 51.5 | 53.2 |
| Nonprofit | 54.6 | 54.6 | 52.8 | 51.3 | 49.2 | 48.2 | 47.5 | 46.6 | 46.7 | 48.5 | 46.7 | 45.1 |
| Government-owned | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| Freestanding | 70.7 | 71.9 | 73.0 | 75.0 | 76.9 | 78.3 | 80.4 | 81.8 | 81.6 | 82.3 | 82.8 | 83.7 |
Abbreviations: ADRD, Alzheimer disease and related dementias; MA, Medicare Advantage.
a
July 2008 to December 2008 only.
b
Includes Asian and North American Native individuals as well as those of Unknown and Other race and ethnicity.