Linking health and social services through area agencies on aging is associated with lower health care use and spending

Abstract

Area Agencies on Aging are increasingly partnering with health care organizations to address the health-related social needs of older adults and contribute to multisector coalitions that promote community health. Using survey data for the period 2008–13, we examined the potential health impacts of establishing such partnerships. Partnerships with hospitals located in an agency’s service county were associated with a reduction of $136 in average annual Medicare spending per beneficiary, while partnerships with mental health organizations in an agency’s service county saw potentially avoidable nursing home use fall by 0.5 percentage points. When agencies were funded participants in livable community initiatives—multisector coalitions to promote the well-being and health of older adults—potentially avoidable nursing home use fell by nearly 1 percentage point. Our results suggest that investments in health and human services partnerships through Area Agencies on Aging can yield health returns among older adults, in the form of reduced health care use and spending.