MedPAC Report Finds Medicare Advantage Patients Stay in Hospitals 11 Percent Longer Than Original Medicare Patients

Medicare Advantage enrollees had an average hospital length of stay 11.2 percent longer than comparable patients in original fee-for-service Medicare in fiscal year 2024, after researchers controlled for the hospital used, the services received, the patient's health conditions, and the intended post-discharge destination, according to Chapter 4 of the MedPAC June 2026 Report to the Congress released June 15, 2026.

The finding runs counter to the common assumption that Medicare Advantage plans consistently shorten hospital stays through aggressive utilization management. MedPAC researchers noted one plausible explanation: Medicare Advantage plans may sometimes prefer to extend a hospital stay rather than authorize a separate transition to a skilled nursing facility or inpatient rehabilitation facility, both of which require their own prior authorization approvals. That possibility would also be consistent with data showing elevated denial rates for post-acute care admissions among Medicare Advantage plans.

On the financial side, MedPAC found that hospital operating margins remained relatively flat or rose slightly between 2013 and 2024, a period during which Medicare Advantage penetration grew substantially. The stability suggests that the shift toward Medicare Advantage has not demonstrably harmed hospitals' aggregate financial position, even though Medicare Advantage payment rates are typically lower per case than traditional Medicare rates.

MedPAC noted that Medicare Advantage now covers more than half of all eligible Medicare beneficiaries, making MA enrollees a growing share of most hospitals' patient volume and revenue base.