Do Residents Participating in Minnesota’s Return to Community Initiative Experience Similar Postdischarge Outcomes to Their Peers?

Abstract

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of Minnesota’s Return to Community Initiative (RTCI) on postdischarge outcomes for nursing home residents transitioned through the program. Data Sources: Secondary data were from the Minimum Data Set and RTCI staff (January 2015 to December 2016), state Medicaid eligibility files and death records. The sample consisted of 29,201 nursing home discharges in Minnesota occurring in 2015. Research Design: Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare 1-year postdischarge outcomes of nursing home readmission, mortality, and Medicaid conversion for RTCI assisted community discharges and a propensity-matched sample of unassisted community discharges. Results: The majority (60%) of RTCI assisted discharges remained alive, in the community and not having converted at Medicaid at 1 year after discharge. Time to mortality was significantly lower for the assisted group than the unassisted group, but time to readmission and Medicaid conversion were similar. Conclusion: The RTCI assisted residents fared well postdischarge in their time to mortality, nursing home readmission, and Medicaid conversion; they lived longer than a propensity-matched sample of their peers.