The Impact of Family Support on Health Care Utilization After Inpatient Care

Abstract

Background: Effective post-acute care following an inpatient stay is important to high-quality care, as it has been shown to prevent readmissions and complications. It has been argued that the presence of a family member serves as a substitute for formal care; however, there is very little research quantifying the impact of informal caregivers on patterns of post-acute health care utilization. We leverage health plan administrative data collected under managed Medicare coverages to explore the impact of informal caregivers on post-acute care and recovery.