David C. Grabowski is the principal investigator for this project; Laurie Coots is the contact person: 617-432-3423.

The recent growth in assisted living has coincided with dramatic changes in the market for nursing home care. Mean nursing home occupancy rates have greatly decreased, while resident acuity and the share of residents who rely on Medicaid have greatly increased. This research seeks to understand the potential linkage of these changes to the expansion in assisted living and how public policy can be applied effectively in the context of this new market paradigm. We will establish a national assisted living database to supplement existing long-term-care data sources. The dataset, the first of its kind, will facilitate empirical work to isolate the effect of assisted living growth on the nursing home market, which still comprises the bulk of Medicaid long-term spending.