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BACKGROUND: Efforts to increase transparency and accountability of nursing homes, and thus improve quality, now include information about changes in nursing home ownership. However, little is known about how change in ownership affects nursing home quality. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 15,471 U.S. nursing homes between January 2016 and December 2022, identifying all changes in ownership during that period. We used logistic regression to measure the association between nursing home characteristics and the odds of a change in ownership. A difference-in-differences model with multiple time periods was used to examine the impact of a change in ownership on the Medicare Nursing Home Compare 5-star ratings. RESULTS: One in five (23%) facilities changed ownership between 2016 and 2022. Nursing homes that were urban, for-profit, part of a chain, located in the South, had >50 beds, lower occupancy, higher percentage of stays covered by Medicaid, higher percentage of residents with non-white race, or a 1-star (poor) rating were more likely to undergo a change in ownership. There was a small statistically significant decrease in 5-star ratings after a change in ownership (-0.09 points on a 5-point scale; 95% CI -0.13 to -0.04; p < 0.001), driven primarily by a decrease in staffing ratings (-0.19 points; 95% CI -0.24 to -0.14; p < 0.001), and health inspections ratings (-0.07 points; 95% CI -0.11 to -0.03; p = 0.001). This was mitigated by an increase in quality measure ratings (0.15 points; 95% CI 0.10-0.20; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Nursing Home Compare ratings decreased slightly after a change in facility ownership, driven by lower staffing and health inspection ratings and mitigated somewhat by higher quality measure ratings. These conflicting trends underscore the need for transparency around changes in facility ownership and a better understanding of consequences of changes in ownership that are salient to patients and families.

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OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether the relative frequency of leading causes and total associated costs of readmission after acute ischemic stroke changed with Medicaid expansion, and how these changes differed by racial/ethnic group. METHODS: We used a difference-in-differences approach to compare changes in the relative frequency of leading causes of unplanned 30-day readmission and to examine changes in the costs associated with unplanned readmission between expansion states (AR, MD, NM, and WA) and non-expansion states (FL and GA). To estimate the differential effect of Medicaid expansion by race/ethnicity on the causes and cost of readmission, we added a time*treatment*race interaction. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to analyze the changes in readmission cause. Gamma log-link modeling was used to study changes in readmission costs for expansion compared to non-expansion states. RESULTS: The final multinomial model showed an association between expanded Medicaid and the relative frequency of sepsis readmission for White patients. According to predictive margins, White patients in expansion states had an estimated increase of 3.3 percentage points in the share of readmissions for sepsis but not for White patients in non-expansion states. In contrast, non-White patients in expansion states had a decrease of 1.8 percentage points in the share of readmissions for sepsis. Overall, Medicaid expansion was associated with a net increase of 6.7 percentage points in the share of readmissions for sepsis among non-Hispanic Whites relative to all other groups. In the final gamma model, Medicaid expansion was associated with a decrease in readmission costs overall. According to predictive margins, the net cost reduction in expansion versus non-expansion states was an average of $2509. CONCLUSIONS: Medicaid expansion is associated with an overall decrease in unplanned readmission costs and an increase among readmitted White patients in the likelihood of readmission for sepsis.

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Importance: The number of physicians and advanced practitioners who focus their practice in nursing homes (NHs), often referred to as "SNFists" (ie, physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants concentrating their practice in the nursing home or skilled nursing facility [SNF] setting) has increased dramatically. Little is known about the association of the NH medical care delivery models that use SNFists with the quality of postacute care. Objective: To quantify the association between NH use of SNFists and facility-level, unplanned 30-day rehospitalization rates for patients receiving postacute care. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study used Medicare fee-for-service claims for all hospitalized beneficiaries discharged to 4482 NHs from January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2019. The study sample comprised NHs that did not have patients under the care of SNFists as of 2012. The treatment group included NHs that adopted at least 1 SNFist by the end of the study period. The control group included NHs that did not have patients under the care of a SNFist during the study period. SNFists were defined as generalist physicians and advanced practitioners with 80% or more of their Medicare Part B services delivered in NHs. Statistical analysis was conducted from January 2022 to April 2023. Exposure: Nursing home adoption of 1 or more SNFists. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was the NH 30-day unplanned rehospitalization rate. A facility-level analysis was conducted using an event study approach to estimate the association of an NH adopting 1 or more SNFists with its unplanned 30-day rehospitalization rate, adjusting for patient case mix, facility, and market characteristics. Changes in patient case mix were examined in secondary analyses. Results: In this study of 4482 NHs, adoption of SNFists increased from 13.5% of facilities (550 of 4063) in 2013 to 52.9% (1935 of 3656) in 2018. Adjusted rehospitalization rates were not statistically different after SNFist adoption compared with before, with an estimated mean treatment effect of 0.05 percentage points (95% CI, -0.43 to 0.53 percentage points; P = .84). The share of Medicare-covered patients increased by 0.60 percentage points (95% CI, 0.21-0.99 percentage points; P = .003) in the year of SNFist adoption and by 0.54 percentage points (95% CI, 0.12-0.95 percentage points; P = .01) 1 year after adoption compared with NHs that did not adopt SNFists. The number of postacute admissions increased by 13.6 (95% CI, 9.7-17.5; P < .001) after SNFist adoption, but there was no statistically significant change in the acuity index. Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study suggests that NH adoption of SNFists was associated with an increase in the number of admissions for postacute care but was not associated with a change in rehospitalization rates. This may represent a strategy by NHs to maintain rehospitalization rates while increasing the volume of patients receiving postacute care, which typically results in higher profit margins.

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To examine whether rates of 30-day readmission after acute ischemic stroke changed differentially between Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states, and whether race/ethnicity moderated this change, we conducted a difference-in-differences analysis using 6 state inpatient databases (AR, FL, GA, MD, NM, and WA) from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Analysis included all patients aged 19-64 hospitalized in 2012-2015 with a principal diagnosis of ischemic stroke and a primary payer of Medicaid, self-pay, or no charge, who resided in the state where admitted and were discharged alive (N=28 330). No association was detected between Medicaid expansion and readmission overall, but there was evidence of moderation by race/ethnicity. The predicted probability of all-cause readmission among non-Hispanic White patients rose an estimated 2.6 percentage points (or 39%) in expansion states but not in non-expansion states, whereas it increased by 1.5 percentage points (or 23%) for non-White and Hispanic patients in non-expansion states. Therefore, Medicaid expansion was associated with a rise in readmission probability that was 4.0 percentage points higher for non-Hispanic Whites compared to other racial/ethnic groups, after adjustment for covariates. Similar trends were observed when unplanned and potentially preventable readmissions were isolated. Among low-income stroke survivors, we found evidence that 2 years of Medicaid expansion promoted rehospitalization, but only for White patients. Future studies should verify these findings over a longer follow-up period.

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