Association Between States’ Certificate of Need Laws and Home Health Care Access in the US

Home health care has a significant role in the care of Medicare beneficiaries. Certificate of Need (CON) laws for home health agencies limit their number in affected states. This study’s objective was to evaluate the association of CON laws with the availability and service utilization of urban and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied gerontology 2024-06, Vol.43 (6), p.670-677
Main Authors: Nataliansyah, M. Muska, Ward, Marcia M., Zhu, Xi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Certificate of Need - legislation & jurisprudence
Health care access
Health services
Health Services Accessibility - legislation & jurisprudence
Home Care Agencies - legislation & jurisprudence
Home Care Services - legislation & jurisprudence
Home health care
Humans
Medicare
Medicare - legislation & jurisprudence
Rural Population
Rurality
United States
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Summary:Home health care has a significant role in the care of Medicare beneficiaries. Certificate of Need (CON) laws for home health agencies limit their number in affected states. This study’s objective was to evaluate the association of CON laws with the availability and service utilization of urban and rural home health agencies in CON states and non-CON states using the generalized estimating equations (GEE) method. The results from this study indicated that CON states have fewer home health agencies for their Medicare population than non-CON states, regardless of urbanicity or rurality. Home health agencies in CON states also have less service utilization in terms of care episodes and visits per patient. This study provides an understanding of the effects of CON laws on Medicare beneficiaries' home health access and experiences.
ISSN:0733-4648
1552-4523
1552-4523
DOI:10.1177/07334648231218079