To examine the association between payment rates for personal care assistants and use of long‐term services and supports () following hospital discharge among dual eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
State hospital discharge, Medicaid and Medicare claims, and assessment data on California Medicaid users from 2006 to 2008.
Cross‐sectional study. We used multinomial logistic regression to analyze county personal care assistant payment rates and postdischarge use, and estimate marginal probabilities of each outcome across the range of rates paid in alifornia.
We identified dual eligible Medicare and Medicaid adult beneficiaries discharged from an acute care hospital with no hospitalizations or use in the preceding 12 months.
Personal care assistant payment rates were modestly associated with home and community‐based services () use versus nursing facility entry following hospital discharge ( 1.2, 95 percent : 1.0–1.4). For a rate of $6.75 per hour, the probability of use was 5.6 percent (95 percent : 4.2–7.1); at $11.75 per hour, 18.0 percent (95 percent : 12.5–23.4). Payment rate was not associated with the probability of nursing facility entry.
Higher payment rates for personal care assistants may increase utilization of , but with limited substitution for nursing facility care.
