Updated
Updated · PR Newswire · Jul 30
Trella Health Releases 2026 Report as Medicare Advantage Stalls at 55.4%
Updated
Updated · PR Newswire · Jul 30

Trella Health Releases 2026 Report as Medicare Advantage Stalls at 55.4%

2 articles · Updated · PR Newswire · Jul 30

Summary

  • 55.4% Medicare Advantage penetration held flat through January 2026, Trella Health said in its new post-acute market report, marking the first plateau after roughly a decade of average 2.1-point annual gains.
  • The 2026 edition turns every chart interactive and adds state-level analysis on home health start-of-care times, hospice adoption and costs, discharge patterns, quality measures, and length of stay.
  • 3.3 days was the national average from inpatient discharge to home health start in 2025, with performance slowing in 39 states and state averages ranging from 2.3 to 6.5 days.
  • 4.1% growth lifted fee-for-service hospice admissions to about 1.68 million in 2025, while skilled nursing admissions rose 1.7% to roughly 1.58 million for their first annual increase since 2022.
  • $29,000 lower end-of-life costs were associated with hospice stays of 121 days or more, while Trella said TEAM episode costs span about $30,000 to $51,300, raising pressure on referral relationships.

Insights

As Medicare Advantage growth stalls, are aggressive prior authorizations actually fueling the dangerous 3.3-day delay in home health starts?
Earlier hospice care saves Medicare thousands, but is tighter CMS scrutiny quietly penalizing providers for these cost-saving admissions?
With post-acute care driving 53% of TEAM episode costs, which hidden referral bottlenecks are secretly sabotaging hospital performance?