The relationship between older Americans act in-home services and low-care residents in nursing homes.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between supportive services provided under Title III-B of the Older Americans Act (OAA) and the prevalence of low-care residents in nursing homes (NHs).

METHOD:

State Program Reports (state-level expenditure and utilization data for each OAA service) and NH facility-level data were analyzed using a two-way fixed effects model.

RESULTS:

Results suggest that every additional 1% of the population age 65+ that receives personal care services is associated with a 0.8% decrease in the proportion of low-care residents in NHs.

DISCUSSION:

Despite efforts to rebalance long-term care, there are still many NH residents who have the functional capacity to live in a less restrictive environment. This is among the first studies to suggest that states that have invested in their in-home supportive services, particularly personal care services provided through the OAA, have proportionally fewer of these people.