Home health cost effectiveness: what are we measuring?

Home health care has been the subject of a long and continuing debate; little agreement exists on the goals and purposes of that care, the kinds of population groups it should serve, or the costs and benefits to be expected. Since little conceptual groundwork has been laid regarding the objectives of home health care, no determinations have been made of what equivalent levels of care in other settings home health care should be compared with. This paper established the conceptual framework for various types of home health care, including that funded by Medicare and Medicaid, and relates cost effectiveness studies and discussions to that framework. In this way, it is possible to make statements and pose some hypotheses regarding cost effectiveness.