Temporary Financial Assistance Decreased Health Care Costs For Veterans Experiencing Housing Instability

Compared with housed people, those experiencing homelessness have longer and more expensive inpatient stays as well as more frequent emergency department visits. Efforts to provide stable housing situations for people experiencing homelessness could reduce health care costs. Through the Supportive S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health affairs (Millwood, Va.) Va.), 2021-05, Vol.40 (5), p.820-6A
Main Authors: Nelson, Richard E, Montgomery, Ann Elizabeth, Suo, Ying, Cook, James, Pettey, Warren, Gundlapalli, Adi, Greene, Tom, Evans, William, Gelberg, Lillian, Kertesz, Stefan G, Tsai, Jack, Byrne, Thomas H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case management
Child care
Children & youth
Community
Community organizations
Community structure
Comorbidity
Costs
Emergency medical care
Emergency medical services
Emergency services
Employment
Enrollments
Families & family life
Fiscal years
Food stamps
Health care
Health care expenditures
Health care policy
Health insurance
Health services
Homeless people
Homelessness
Households
Housing
Housing costs
Independent variables
Information systems
Inpatient care
Management information systems
Medicaid
Moving & housing expenses
Nonprofit organizations
Operations management
Public assistance programs
Stability
Veterans
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Summary:Compared with housed people, those experiencing homelessness have longer and more expensive inpatient stays as well as more frequent emergency department visits. Efforts to provide stable housing situations for people experiencing homelessness could reduce health care costs. Through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, the Department of Veterans Affairs partners with community organizations to provide temporary financial assistance to veterans who are currently homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. We examined the impact of temporary financial assistance on health care costs for veterans in the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program and found that, on average, people receiving the assistance incurred $352 lower health care costs per quarter than those who did not receive the assistance. These results can inform national policy debates regarding the proper solution to housing instability.
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01796