Federal Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Program Linked To Reduced Dementia Care Disparities

Medicare beneficiaries with dementia experienced smaller disparities in home health care utilization when receiving post-hospital home health services in states participating in the Medicare Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) program, according to a recent study. Compared to beneficiaries in nonparticipating states, those in HHVBP-participating states received more therapy visits and experienced narrower gaps in care across racial and ethnic groups, low-income beneficiaries, and those served by minority-focused home health agencies.

The study linked 2021 through 2022 Medicare claims data with Home Health Focus and Provider of Services files. The analytic cohort included 264,601 Medicare . . .