How to Estimate Cost Savings of Community-Anchored Eldercare Reforms

More and more elders across the country are struggling to afford medical care and supportive services that allow them to live comfortable, meaningful lives in advanced old age. To address this challenge cost-effectively, Altarum has developed a comprehensive model of community-anchored services. Called MediCaring Communities, the model is a population health blueprint for how communities can lower the cost of health care for older adults by shifting utilization away from intensive hospital care and toward individually tailored geriatric care and long-term services and supports (LTSS).

These reforms can start simply, led by those who are charged with planning budgets, and who can assemble a meeting of health care and supportive services providers, advocates, local leaders and other interested stakeholders in the community.  All have a stake in improving the health and well-being of older adults in the area, and in making better use of the funding that comes from a mix of programs.

How the Forecasting Tool Works

The analysis begins with a streamlined “SmartSheets” tool that we call “Financial Forecasting for MediCaring Communities.” The tool combines national Medicare data on utilization and services spending with local information, including estimates of the size of the population of frail elders in your area who could benefit from more streamlined care. It creates a baseline spending profile and projections for reducing costs over time to achieve savings targets – which in turn can become a source of new revenue for offsetting the costs of supportive services. Our tool shows how today’s high cost of health care can be re-engineered to produce a solid Return on Investment (ROI) for your community. This is supported by solid evidence. Our research in Milbank Quarterly shows that the MediCaring Communities reform model generates a cumulative return on investment of 75 to 165 percent.

View the Video to Get Started

To get started, watch the 14-minute demonstration video below to learn how the MediCaring Communities Financial Forecasting tool works. Then contact Anne Montgomery at Anne.Montgomery@altarum.org to request your own analysis, and we’ll get started. We invite you to explore the MediCaring Communities model and how to organize and implement improvements in services for frail elders in your area.