Characteristics of People Using Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports, 2021
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Associated Project
Long-term Services and Supports Expenditure Reports Project
Prepared for:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services
Key Findings
- In 2021, the majority of people using home and community-based services (HCBS) were younger than age 65, were not dually eligible, lived in an urban area, and spoke English as their primary language.
- In 2021, the majority of people using institutional services were older than age 65, were dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, lived in an urban area, and spoke English as their primary language.
- Larger proportions of people who identified as members of a racial and ethnic minority group used HCBS relative to institutional services.
Medicaid is the largest payer of long-term services and supports (LTSS) in the United States, serving 8.7 million people using a variety of HCBS and institutional facilities in 2021. The characteristics of these users varies widely in terms of age, eligibility for Medicare, geographic distribution, language, and race and ethnicity. We analyzed characteristics of LTSS users nationwide in 2021, based on data from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System Analytic Files (TAF). We found that relative to institutional service users, HCBS users tended to be younger, were less often dually eligible, and more often identified as members of racial and ethnic minority groups.
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