Providing more home-delivered meals is one way to keep older adults with low care needs out of nursing homes.

ABSTRACT: Programs that help older adults live independently in the community can also deliver net savings to states on the costs of long-term supports and services. We estimate that if all states had increased by 1 percent the number of adults age sixty-five or older who received home-delivered meals in 2009 under Title III of the Older Americans Act, total annual savings to states' Medicaid programs could have exceeded $109 million. The projected savings primarily reflect decreased Medicaid spending for an estimated 1,722 older adults with low care needs who would no longer require nursing home care--instead, they could remain at home, sustained by home-delivered meals. Twenty-six states could have realized net savings in 2009 from the expansion of their home-delivered meals programs, while twenty

SUBMITTER: Thomas KS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4001076 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature