Homebound Americans have more complex and costly medical conditions on average than the general population. They also are more likely to have been hospitalized in the past 12 months, research shows. A recent analysis of National Health and Aging Trends and Medicare fee-for-service claims data concluded that homebound people aged 70 and older accounted for 11% of Medicare spending in 2015, despite comprising only 5.7% of the Medicare fee-for-service demographic.
In addition, homebound Americans too often deal with health equity issues related to social determinants of health (SDoH). These include physical disabilities and a lack of reliable transportation, which makes it difficult or even impossible for these patients to go to a clinic, hospital or doctor’s office for evaluation and treatment. Eventually their failure to get treatment causes their conditions to worsen, resulting in poorer health outcomes and higher healthcare costs.
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