Patient cognitive impairment associated with higher home health care delivery costs.

Home health agencies incur significantly higher costs when caring for a patient with cognitive impairment. As patient cognitive function is not considered in the most recent Medicare home health reimbursement model, agencies may be disincentivized from providing care to those with cognitive impairment. Policy makers and researchers should carefully monitor home health access among Medicare beneficiaries with cognitive impairment and further investigate the inclusion of patient cognitive function in future risk adjustment models.