Service Utilization and Consumer-Reported Unmet Needs in Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services for Older Adults.

Home- and community-based services (HCBS) are increasingly favored over nursing home care by older consumers and by policymakers. Consumer-reported unmet service needs in HCBS are important service quality and person-centeredness indicators. Yet, we know little about consumer-reported unmet needs among HCBS users.

Association between results of an amyloid PET scan and healthcare utilization in individuals with cognitive impairment.

Background: The Imaging Dementia Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) study reports that amyloid PET scans help providers diagnose and manage Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Using CARE-IDEAS, an IDEAS supplemental study, we examined the association between amyloid PET scan result (elevated or non-elevated amyloid), patient characteristics, and participant healthcare utilization.

Methods: We linked respondents in CARE-IDEAS study to their Medicare fee-for-service records (n = 1333).

The Benefits of Nursing Home Air Purification on COVID-19 Outcomes: A Natural Experiment.

Objectives: Improving indoor air quality is one potential strategy to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in any setting, including nursing homes, where staff and residents have been disproportionately and negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Single group interrupted time series.

Setting And Participants: A total of 81 nursing homes in a multifacility corporation in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina that installed ultraviolet air purification in their existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems between July 27, 2020,k and September 10, 2020.

Prevalence and incidence of depressive symptoms and diagnosis of depression as associated with elevated amyloid among Medicare beneficiaries with cognitive impairment.

Background: Depression and cognitive impairment commonly co-occur, and it has been hypothesized that the two share pathological processes. Our objective for this study was to determine the relationship between elevated β-amyloid level and the prevalence and incidence of depressive symptoms and diagnosed depression over two years among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with cognitive impairment.

Methods: We utilized data from the CARE-IDEAS cohort study (N = 2078) including two measures of depressive symptoms (PHQ-2) and administrative claims data to identify pre-scan and incident depression diagnosis in subsample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries (N = 1443).

Cost effectiveness of non-drug interventions that reduce nursing home admissions for people living with dementia.

Introduction: Six million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD), a major health-care cost driver. We evaluated the cost effectiveness of non-pharmacologic interventions that reduce nursing home admissions for people living with AD/ADRD.

Methods: We used a person-level microsimulation to model the hazard ratios (HR) on nursing home admission for four evidence-based interventions compared to usual care: Maximizing Independence at Home (MIND), NYU Caregiver (NYU); Alzheimer's and Dementia Care (ADC); and Adult Day Service Plus (ADS Plus).