Open AccessUsers Of Veteran-Directed Care And Other Purchased Care Have Similar Hospital Use And Costs Over Time
Author(s) -
Yingzhe Yuan,
Kali S. Thomas,
Austin B. Frakt,
Steven D. Pizer,
Melissa M. Garrido
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
health affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.837
H-Index - 178
eISSN - 2694-233X
pISSN - 0278-2715
DOI - 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00020
Subject(s) - respite care , receipt , medicine , fiscal year , health care , flexibility (engineering) , veterans affairs , multiple chronic conditions , service (business) , nursing , home health , family medicine , business , chronic disease , economic growth , marketing , statistics , accounting , mathematics , finance , economics
The Veteran-Directed Care (VDC) program facilitates independent community living among adults with multiple chronic conditions and functional limitations. Family caregivers value the choice and flexibility afforded by VDC, but rigorous evidence to support its impact on health care costs and use is needed. We identified veterans enrolled in VDC in fiscal year 2017 and investigated differences in hospital admissions and costs after initial receipt of VDC services. We compared VDC service recipients to a matched comparison group of veterans receiving homemaker or home health aide, home respite, and adult day health care services and found similar decreases in hospital use and costs from before to after enrollment in the groups. Further investigation into trends of nursing home use, identification of veterans most likely to benefit from VDC, and relative costs of operating VDC versus other purchased care programs is needed, but our results suggest that VDC remains a valuable option for supporting veterans and caregivers.
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