Medicare Spending Falls When Hospitals Partner With Local Agencies For Older Adults, Study Indicates

Modern Healthcare (4/6, Castellucci, Subscription Publication) reports that “when mental health providers and hospitals partner with local agencies focused on helping older adults stay independent, Medicare spending decreases and nursing home use falls, according to a new study in Health Affairs.” The study findings indicate that “when an Area Agency on Aging established a partnership with a hospital, the counties covered by the agency saw an average yearly reduction in Medicare spending per beneficiary of $135.50.” Moreover, “when an Area Agency on Aging created a formal contractual partnership with a local mental health provider, nursing home use for patients with minimal assistance needs decreased by 0.5 percentage points.”