This study conducted exploratory analyses to develop a better understanding of community-admitted Medicare home health patients, including whether there have been any differential trends between community-admitted and post-acute care (PAC) patients over time and what their patterns of care tell us about the underlying reasons for the community-admitted increased numbers. The findings indicate that there are many important differences between patients based on the length of their home health care use, not just based on their source of admission, and that the source of admission may be a more important differentiator among patients who use home health care for longer periods. The study also found that use of the home health care benefit is changing--use of home health aide care has declined and use of physical therapy services has increased, even for longer periods of care.
This report was prepared under contract #HHSP233201600017I between HHS's ASPE/DALTCP and Mathematica Policy Research. For additional information about this subject, you can visit the DALTCP home page at https://aspe.hhs.gov/office-disability-aging-and-long-term-care-policy-daltcp or contact the ASPE Project Officer, Judith Dey, at HHS/ASPE/DALTCP, Room 424E, H.H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201. Her e-mail address is: Judith.Dey@hhs.gov.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions and views expressed in this report are those of the authors. They do not reflect the views of the Department of Health and Human Services, the contractor or any other funding organization. This report was completed and submitted on November 14, 2017.