Medicare Home Health Use High Among Dementia Patients — But Falling

As rates of institutionalization have decreased, a growing majority of patients with dementia choose to live and receive care at home, according to a new study. Rates of home health care use among people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are higher than those without, according to the study, published today in JAMA Network Open. […]

Older Adults Far Prefer Home-Based Post-Acute Care, But With Some Caveats

A new study found that post-acute patients and caregivers greatly prefer home-based care to facility-based care, although with some caveats. Published in JAMA, the study’s results came from an eight-question survey conducted in September 2022 of over 1,500 adults aged 45 and older. The survey dissected the participants’ willingness and preference to pay for certain […]

New Study Raises ‘Important’ Questions About Differences In Post-Acute Care Utilization Between FFS Medicare, MA Beneficiaries

An extensive body of research exists highlighting the differences in post-acute care utilization between fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare beneficiaries and those enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA). Generally, that research has suggested that MA enrollees utilize post-acute care services less than their FFS counterparts, often with either better or equal health outcomes. A study published Friday in […]

Under Two-Sided Risk Models, Quality Of Care Increases Compared To FFS Medicare

Data examinations are beginning to shed greater insight on just how much better value-based payment models are for quality of care. When comparing two-sided risk models in Medicare Advantage (MA) versus fee-for-service Medicare programs, the former performed better in all eight quality-of-care metrics. That is at least according to a new study published this month […]

Home Health Providers Lag Behind Skilled Nursing Facilities in Preventing Re-Hospitalizations

While home health care is often touted as a cost-effective way to reduce readmissions, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) — though more expensive — might be better at keeping patients out of the hospital post-discharge. That’s according to a new article published in JAMA Internal Medicine, which shows readmission rates for patients discharged to home health […]

Immigrants Play Large Role in Combating Home Health Caregiver Shortage

A large proportion of home health workers in the U.S. are immigrants, according to a new study compiled with census data. But stricter immigration policies proposed by the Trump administration could reduce the number of foreign-born health care workers and further fuel the nationwide caregiver shortage, some experts say. More than 23% of home health, […]

At-Home Deaths On the Rise in United States

Americans are more often spending their final days at home or in other community-based settings instead of the hospital, a new study has found. Overall, the proportion of deaths that occur in acute-care hospitals has fallen to below 20%, according to a retrospective cohort study published last month in JAMA. That’s a steep drop compared […]

Home-Based Care Increases 20%, But Many Still Left Out

There has been a sharp spike in the number of seniors receiving in-home help, with the greatest increase among those paying for the services. Half of disabled seniors had some form of in-home help in 2012, which is up nearly 20% since 1998, according to a recent study published in the latest issue of JAMA by a […]