The study provides new data on home health in assisted living, including better understanding of the residents receiving home care and the agencies providing these services in this setting. For example, home health recipients in assisted living were more likely to have cognitive and activity of daily living impairments than those receiving home care in other settings. They were also less likely to have been recently discharged from acute care setting, which implies they are more likely to use home health for health maintenance vs. post-acute care services and is consistent with increasing acuity and length of stay in this setting.

This research uses a pioneering analytic approach developed by Kali and her team to identify assisted living residents in national Medicare claims data. It is among the first studies to examine home health utilization in assisted living.