@article {9450, title = {Untapped Potential: Using the HRS-Medicare Linked Files to Study the Changing Nursing Home Population.}, journal = {Medical Care}, volume = {56}, year = {2018}, month = {03/2018}, pages = {216-219}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Nursing home (NH) care in the United States now includes many short-term admissions to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for postacute care.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the potential of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) linked to administrative data to study this group.

RESEARCH DESIGN: Descriptive retrospective panel study.

SUBJECTS: HRS respondents between 2002 and 2010 linked to administrative data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

MEASURES: NH use was defined in 3 ways: by survey responses, Medicare SNF claims, and mandatory NH assessments.

RESULTS: In total, 8.5\% of observation periods (ie, time between 2 consecutive survey dates or 2 years before initial survey) reported by the survey and 26.0\% reported by administrative data indicated some NH use. There was 98\% agreement between survey responses and administrative data when there was no indication of a NH observation in the administrative data. However, there was only 33\% agreement between survey responses and administrative data when a NH stay was indicated in the administrative data. NH stays associated with SNF care were responsible for the discrepancy-they were not consistently captured by the HRS survey. Rates of agreement were highest when a proxy respondent was used, and lowest among respondents who rated themselves in excellent overall health. Rates of agreement were higher later in the decade than earlier.

CONCLUSIONS: The HRS-Medicare linked files enhance the ability of the HRS to examine the growing use of NH for postacute care as well as offer a more comprehensive view of who uses NHs.

}, keywords = {Community-dwelling, Medicare linkage, Medicare/Medicaid/Health Insurance, Nursing homes}, issn = {1537-1948}, doi = {10.1097/MLR.0000000000000866}, author = {Julie C Lima and Ogarek, Jessica and Mor, Vincent} }