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An integrated county health system that spent more than $22 million on a social needs case management program for its adult Medicaid patients was rewarded with significant reductions in hospital admissions and a minor dip in emergency department visits, according to a new study published this week in Annals of Internal Medicine.
However, reduced utilization during the first year of Contra Costa Health Services’ (CCHS’) case management program translated to roughly $3.4 million in hospitalization and ED cost savings—just 17% of the program’s one-year cost—casting doubts on whether the intervention is economically feasible even when considering its other potentially avoided downstream healthcare costs.
“Although social needs case management programs may reduce health care use, these savings may not cover full program costs,” researchers wrote in the journal.