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Long-term Cost Effectiveness of Placing Homeless Seniors in Permanent Supportive Housing

An Effective Practice

Description

A study examining the long-term cost-effectiveness of placing homeless seniors in a Housing First program. Data from 1 year prior to move-in was compared with data from the 7 years subsequent to moving into a new supportive housing facility.

Goal / Mission

To describe a new model of enriched supportive housing that not only improves the quality of life of seniors but also can provide a return on investment that reduces health care expenditures.

Impact

Housing chronically homeless adults reduces homelessness, improves health outcomes, and reduces health care costs. The greatest reduction in health care costs after placement in supportive housing is seen among chronically homeless adults and seniors.

Results / Accomplishments

For the 51 seniors placed in permanent supportive housing, there was a $1.46 million cost reduction in hospital-based health care compared with the year prior to placement. By placing individuals in independent housing, we estimate that 16,433 days of care in an SNF was avoided, corresponding with a cost to Medicaid and Medicare of approximately $9.2 million in a 7-year period.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
San Francisco Department of Public Health
Primary Contact
Joshua Bamberger
San Francisco Department of Public Health
University of California, San Francisco,
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Topics
Economy / Housing & Homes
Organization(s)
San Francisco Department of Public Health
Date of publication
Jul 2014
Location
San Francisco, CA
For more details
https://www.frbsf.org/community-development/files/...
https://www.frbsf.org/community-development/public...
Target Audience
Women, Men, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

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An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.