. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Jan 3.

Published in final edited form as: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017 Aug 21;65(11):2446–2451. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15053

Table 1.

Variables included in covariate constrained randomization

Variable	Description (Source)
*Patient case-mix at VAMC*
Number of patients age 75 years and older per site	(GEC-DAC)
Percentage of patients at site who are age 75 years and older and at least 70% service connected	(GEC-DAC)
Mean CAN score among patients age 75 years and older	Predicts 1-year mortality²⁴ (GEC-DAC; based on FY15 VHA CDW data)
Mean Jen Frailty Index score among patients age 75 years and older	Associated with functional limitations^18-19(GEC-DAC; based on FY15 VHA CDW data on 1800 diagnoses in 13 categories associated with risk of nursing home placement [e.g., self-care impairment, dementia])
Prospective NOSOS score among patients age 75 years and older	Measure of chronic disease burden^27-28 (GEC-DAC ; based on FY15 VHA CDW data)

*Site-specific patterns of caring for older patients*
VAMC spending on HCBS	Percentage of FY16 LTSS expenditures going to HCBS (VSSC)
VAMC has nursing home on campus	FY14 data (VSSC)
Market penetration of HCBS among veterans 75 and older	Number of veterans age 75 years and older receiving HCBS for every 1000 veterans 75 and older (VSSC)

*State or county access to HCBS*
Urban/rural location	VAMC in urban (RUCA code 1.01 or 1.1) vs rural or highly rural location (VSSC)
State participation in early participant-directed care initiatives	Participation in Cash & Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation 2004-2008 and/or Community Living Program 2007-2008 (Administration on Aging²⁹, published report⁶)
Percentage of state Medicaid LTSS expenditures going to HCBS	Medicaid HCBS expenditures as a % of total Medicaid LTSS expenditures by state, FY14 (Published report³⁰)

ACL = Administration for Community Living, CAN = Care Assessment Need, CDW = corporate data warehouse, FY = fiscal year, GEC-DAC = Geriatrics & Extended Care Data Analysis Center, HCBS = home and community-based services, LTSS = long-term services and supports, RUCA = rural-urban commuting area, VHA = Veterans Health Administration, VSSC = Veterans Health Administration Support Service Center