Bmc Health Serv Res
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Mar 2018
The effects of home-based primary care on Medicare costs at Spectrum Health/Priority Health (Grand Rapids, MI, USA) from 2012-present: a matched cohort study.
In the United States, home-based primary care (HBPC) is increasingly proposed as a means of enabling frail elders to remain at home for as long as possible, while still receiving needed medical care. However, there are relatively few studies of either the medical outcome effects or cost benefits of HBPC. In this paper, we examine medical cost and mortality outcomes for enrollees in the HBPC program offered by Spectrum Health/Priority Health (SH/PH), a not-for-profit integrated health care/health insurance system located in Grand Rapids, MI, USA. ⋯ The SH/PC HBPC program reduces healthcare costs while enabling frail elders to remain at home. Reduction in costs is obtained at end-of-life and is offset with a smaller initial increase in costs upon enrollment.