Investigators at University of Wisconsin Madison Release New Data on Managed Care (Determinants of Length of Stay Variations in Post-Acute Care Within an Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility): Managed Care

2026 SEP 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Current study results on Managed Care have been published. According to news originating from Madison, Wisconsin, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “To examine factors associated with variation between actual length of stay (LOS) and expected LOS in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), to compare LOS variation between traditional Medicare ™ and Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries, and to rank the relative importance of these factors in explaining LOS variation. Cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from the IRF-Patient Assessment Instrument among Medicare beneficiaries discharged from IRFs between 2019 and 2020.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Wisconsin Madison, “The study included 242,955 rehabilitation episodes across 4 diagnostic groups: stroke (N = 127,685), hip fracture (N = 64,241), cardiac conditions (N = 33,116), and joint replacement (N = 17,913). The primary outcome was the difference between actual LOS and expected LOS (Diff LOS). Multivariable generalized linear regression models were used to examine associations between Diff LOS and temporal, demographic, facility, insurance, and regional factors. Dominance analysis was subsequently applied to evaluate the relative contribution of different predictor domains to explained variation in Diff LOS. MA status and pandemic-period indicators represented the largest contributors to explained variation across all diagnostic groups. When analyses were stratified by insurance type, demographic characteristics consistently ranked among the most important contributors within both TM and MA beneficiaries. Discharge month and regional fixed effects also consistently ranked among the leading contributors, whereas facility characteristics contributed comparatively less explained variation. Variation in LOS within IRFs was primarily associated with demographic, temporal, and regional fixed effects.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “TM and MA beneficiaries demonstrated broadly similar patterns of contributing factors to LOS variation.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Determinants of Length of Stay Variations in Post-Acute Care Within an Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2026;27(11):106466. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of the American Medical Directors Association - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-the-american-medical-directors-association/)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Dian Luo, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI, United States. Additional authors for this research include Ying Jessica Cao, Marietou H. Ouayogode, Wan-Chin Kuo, John Mullahy and Marguerite E. Burns.

The publisher’s contact information for the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association is: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA.

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