Categories: New York State, Research, Press
12.19.2013
New England Journal of Medicine runs think piece from government officials, scholars
The New England Journal of Medicine has just published a think piece on New York’s efforts to reform Medicaid through supportive housing.
Citing numerous studies, the piece argues that investments in social service programs, including supportive housing, can decrease the amount a society spends on healthcare. The article offers the latest example of an emerging consensus: that supportive housing is healthcare. It was written by three esteemed figures in the field: NYS Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav Shah, NYS Office of Health Insurance Programs Deputy Director Elizabeth Misa and Dr. Kelly Doran of New York University. You can read their perspective here.
The authors stress that supportive housing achieves multiple goals for New York State. Our model helps reduce healthcare costs, improves the quality of care for individuals on Medicaid and improves the overall health of these individuals. On the cost-savings front, the authors lay out a clear argument on the benefits of supportive housing:
"New York Medicaid payments for nursing-facility stays are $217 per day, as compared with costs of $50 to $70 per day for supportive housing. Furthermore, preventing even a few inpatient hospitalizations, at $2,219 per day, could pay for many days of supportive housing […] Studies have shown that the costs of supportive housing are largely offset by resultant savings in services used, mostly from reduced use of the health care system. Some studies of high-risk patients have found that savings exceeded the costs of providing housing, thus yielding a net positive return on investment."
We strongly urge you to read and share this emphatic endorsement of supportive housing!