KNG Health has partnered with Excel Health to conduct an assessment of the value that home health care brings to Medicare beneficiaries discharged from a short-term acute care hospital. About 30% of Medicare beneficiaries discharged from short-term acute care hospitals with instructions to receive home health care do not receive home health care. The study exploits this variation in home health adherence among beneficiaries discharged with home health instructions to examine the effect of home health care on patient outcomes and Medicare expenditures. Specifically, it examines hospital readmissions, mortality, Emergency Department visits, and Medicare spending over a 180-day post-acute care episode between beneficiaries who are adherent and those who are non-adherent with their instructions to receive home health care. The data come from Medicare Inpatient, Outpatient, and Carrier Files available on the Virtual Research Data Center. The outcome comparison is conducted using a risk adjustment model that accounts for differences in patient severity and medical complexity between the two patient groups. The preliminary findings from the study were presented at a keynote session of the 2018 Elevating Home National Leadership Conference.
Links: 2018 Elevating Home National Leadership Conference, Home Health Care News
Services : Health Economics & Outcomes Research Expertise: Comparative Effectiveness, Health Outcomes and Evaluation, Medicare
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