Utilization and Functional Outcomes Among Medicare Home Health Recipients Varied Across Living Situations

Medicare Interim Payment System's Impact on Medicare Home Health Utilization

The Medicare home health interim payment system (IPS) implemented in fiscal year 1998 provided very strong incentives for home health agencies (HHAs) to reduce the number of visits provided to each Medicare user and to avoid those beneficiaries whose Medicare plan of care was likely to exceed the average beneficiary cost limit. We analyzed multiple years of data from the Medicare Current Benefi...

Prevalence of and Factors Related to Prescription Opioids, Benzodiazepines, and Hypnotics Among Medicare Home Health Recipients.

High rates of controlled prescription drugs are associated with cognitive impairment, falls, and misuse and dependence. Little is known about the prevalence of these medications among older adults receiving home healthcare. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of, and the factors related to, opioid analgesics, benzodiazepines (BNZ), and nonbenzodiazepine (NBNZH) hypnotics am...

Utilization of Home Health Services among Rural Medicare Beneficiaries before and after the Pps

Impact of Medicare payment policy on home health resources utilization

In this study, the association between Medicare regulations and the provision of public home health care is examined. Medicare clients were compared with non-Medicare groups of those 65 years of age or over and those under 65. Results suggested that both age- and payer-related factors contribute to utilization of services. Older patients showed greater need for chronic illness care relative to ...

Constraining Medicare Home Health Reimbursement: What Are the Outcomes?

The implementation of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 resulted in substantial decreases in the amount of Medicare home health use. Use among home health users decreased by two-fifths from fiscal year (FY) 1997, just before the passage of the BBA to FY 1999, the first full year after the implementation of the home health interim payment system. This article examines whether these dramatic ...