When does home care slash total LTC costs?

But quick access to home health care benefits helped lead to a modest reduction in the likelihood that the older Iowans would go to the hospital with preventable health problems, and it led to a big reduction in the likelihood that the older Iowans would enter a nursing home.

People ages 41 to 64 with severe brain injuries were only about half as likely to enter a nursing home if they had quick access to home health care benefits.

Quick access to home health care cut the risk that people ages 55 to 64 with physical disabilities would enter a nursing home about 75 percent.

Medicaid spent more on home health care for the people who got quick access to home health care benefits, but reductions in spending on nursing home care offset the increase in home health care spending, and total Medicaid spending for the quick-access group was comparable to the spending for the people who faced long delays, the researchers found.

See also:

• Lincoln launches concierge service for LTC
• LTCI’s Bright Side
• Why your clients need a care coordinator