During this time,
the number of agencies certified by Medicare and the
number of patients served annually doubled. In 1997,
home health care cost Medicare $16.7 billion and served
approximately 4 million Medicare enrollees, most of
whom (85%) received skilled nursing care (9–11). Federal
projections through 2008 estimate that the cost of home
health care services will rise at a faster rate than the economy
(12)