A Research Note: Long-Term Cost Effectiveness of Placing Homeless Seniors in Permanent Supportive Housing

A recently developed body of evidence shows that housing chronically homeless adults improves health outcomes and prevents unnecessary, high-cost, institutional-based medical care. In this study, we report changes in the healthcare costs of homeless seniors who were placed in housing from a skilled...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cityscape (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2015-01, Vol.17 (2), p.269-278
Main Authors: Bamberger, Joshua D., Dobbins, Sarah K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Community
Cost control
Cost estimates
Drug use
Emergency departments
Emergency medical care
Health care costs
Health care expenditures
Health care industry
Homeless people
Homelessness
Hospitals
Housing
Medicaid
Medical records
Mental disorders
Mental health
Mental health care
Nursing
Nursing homes
Older adults
Older people
Professional baseball
Psychiatric hospitals
Public health
Refereed Papers
Studies
Tenants
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Summary:A recently developed body of evidence shows that housing chronically homeless adults improves health outcomes and prevents unnecessary, high-cost, institutional-based medical care. In this study, we report changes in the healthcare costs of homeless seniors who were placed in housing from a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and the costs for those placed in housing from the general community. Cost and utilization data from 1 year before move-in were compared with data from the 7 years subsequent to moving into a new permanent, supportive housing facility. During the 7 years after placement, the total hospital-based costs for the 51 seniors who moved into the facility was $1.46 million less than the costs incurred in the year before moving in. Permanent supportive housing may be a cost-effective placement option for homeless seniors exiting SNFs, particularly as they approach the end of life.
ISSN:1936-007X
1939-1935