Association between governmental spending on social services and health care use among low-income older adults.

ABSTRACT: Prior research demonstrates that local government spending on social policies, excluding health care, is linked to improved population health. Whether such spending is associated with better access to primary care and reduced acute care utilization remains unclear. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the associations between county-level social spending and individual-level health care utilization among low-income Medicare beneficiaries, aged ≥65 years, from 2016 to 2018. We linked claims data to 4 categories of county-level government expenditures from the US Government Finance Database, including (1) public welfare, (2) public transit, (3) housing/community development, and (4) infrastructure-related social services. The main outcomes were annual primary care visit rates, emergen

SUBMITTER: Oronce CIA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11770339 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature