Medicaid: Determining Cost-Effectiveness of Home and Community-Based Services
HRD-87-61
Published: Apr 28, 1987. Publicly Released: Apr 28, 1987.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed states' reports on Medicaid home- and community-based service (HCBS) programs to determine whether the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) was collecting accurate and useful information on HCBS programs. HCFA collects the data to ensure that the cost of Medicaid HCBS programs does not exceed the estimated cost of providing nursing home care to HCBS recipients.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care Financing Administration | The Administrator, HCFA, should develop measures of HCBS programs' ability to prevent or postpone nursing home care and use these measures to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the waiver programs. |
Closed – Not Implemented
HCFA agreed that HCBS services cannot be effectively targeted, but stated that its current review and waiver approval process are adequate to ensure cost-effectiveness. It plans no action on this recommendation.
|
Full Report
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Topics
Cost effectiveness analysisHealth care cost controlHealth resources utilizationHome health care servicesNursing homesReporting requirementsState-administered programsSystems evaluationMedicaidPublic officials