Examining Black-White Disparities Among Medicare Beneficiaries in Assisted Living Settings in 2014.
Chanee D Fabius, Kali S Thomas
PMID 30448156WHAT IT FOUND
Black Medicare beneficiaries made up 5% of residents in large assisted living settings, but black residents were younger, more often dually eligible, and had more chronic conditions than white residents.
Key findings
01Black Medicare beneficiaries comprised 5% of the large assisted living sample.
02Black assisted living residents were more often dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid than white residents: 74% versus 25%.
03New black assisted living residents were more likely than white residents to have previously lived in a neighborhood with a high density of black residents: 56% versus 8%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
It only covered large licensed assisted living settings with 25 or more beds, so smaller or unlicensed residential care is not represented. The data cannot capture all assisted living residents, including those without Medicare or with addresses not updated to the assisted living setting. Because the population of assisted living residents cannot be fully identified, the study cannot determine the likelihood of entering assisted living. It describes resident characteristics and prior healthcare use, not care quality or resident outcomes. The authors state that future work is needed to understand how disparities may manifest in pathways to assisted living and differences in care received and residents’ outcomes. The study did not observe time to long-term nursing home placement.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The publication types list NIH and other government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these disparities as proof that assisted living settings give worse care to black residents. The study measured resident characteristics and prior neighborhoods, not care quality or outcomes, and it did not observe time to long-term nursing home placement.