Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesCohort study
Contemporary Trends in Outcomes After Heart Failure Hospitalization Among Medicare Beneficiaries
- Retrospective cohort study
- national Medicare data
Authors' conclusion
Among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for HF, outcomes improved over time in the prepandemic period, worsened or plateaued during the pandemic, and then improved again in the postpandemic period. Black patients had lower 30-day mortality but higher readmission rates. FFS beneficiaries consistently had worse outcomes compared with Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.
Study context
- Population
- Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with a principal discharge diagnosis of HF, January 2016 to December 2022
- Participants
- 4,957,054 HF hospitalizations
- Exposure
- Postpandemic vs prepandemic periods
- Outcome
- Adjusted mortality, readmission and home time (days alive and out of health care facilities)
- Follow-up
- 30 days
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Adjusted 30-day mortality
Adjusted relative risk (95% CI)
2019 vs 20169.01 to 8.38 per 100
0.93(0.92–0.94)
2022 vs 20209.13 per 100 in 2020 to 8.49 per 100 by 2022; slightly higher than 2019
0.93(0.92–0.94)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | aRR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Readmission · 30 days — 2019 vs 2016 | 0.98 (0.98–0.99) | |
| Readmission · 30 days — 2022 vs 2020 · plateaued in 2020 | 0.96 (0.95–0.97) | |
| 0.512Adjusted relative risk (log scale) |
Mortality by subgroup
- Mortality consistently higher in men (vs women) and White (vs Black) beneficiaries
- FFS (vs Medicare Advantage) beneficiaries had higher mortality; gap widened over time
Readmission by subgroup
- Readmission rates higher in men (vs women), Black (vs White) and FFS (vs Medicare Advantage) beneficiaries
1-year mortality
- Trends similar to 30-day mortality trends
Original publication
Contemporary Trends in Outcomes After Heart Failure Hospitalization Among Medicare Beneficiaries. JACC Heart Fail. Published 16 September 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jchf.2026.103311
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it