A pilot examination of quality and cost of long-term care settings in Illinois
Transitioning residents out of long-term care (LTC) institutions and back into the community has been shown to reduce Medicaid expenditure and improve quality of life for recipients of care. This research was conducted to build upon the findings of previous studies by contrasting components of cost and quality of life between nursing homes and home and community-based care settings (HCBC). Through the PACE Center for Independent Living in Urbana, Illinois, three consumers from the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program were recruited for this study. Each participant completed the 2006 AARP New York Long-Term Care Survey, the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) -8D Questionnaire, and a phone interview. Thematic analysis was utilized to identify theme saturation in the participants’ responses from both sets of questionnaires and the interviews. The results of this study were consistent with previous research. The participants’ responses on questionnaires and in the interview showed that the benefits of transitioning nursing home residents into HCBC include lower costs and an overall higher quality of life for those receiving care. All the participants stated that they would not at all feel confident in their ability to afford the costs of a nursing home in the Chicago area nor did they purchase private LTC insurance because it is too expensive. Transitioning residents into HCBC improved many subcomponents of quality of life. The participants displayed a higher degree of integration in their families and communities, satisfaction with living arrangements, improved mood status, increased autonomy, decreasing one’s feeling of social isolation, increased privacy, and an elevated sense of self-worth. When asked which care setting the subjects preferred, they unanimously answered HCBC. There was also strong consensus that recipients of care should be given the choice to hire and manage their own personal care assistants. With regard to the future direction of LTC policy-making in Illinois, the participants felt that the state should create a central place where people can learn about the different types of LTC. Furthermore, in addition to transitioning a greater number of nursing home residents back into the community, there is a need for Illinois provide a broad range of LTC services that prevent unnecessary nursing home admissions and allow people to remain in their homes.
Long-term care, home and community-based care, Nursing homes, transition, disability, community integration, centers for independent living, Money Follows the Person
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign