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News and Market Developments
Brookings: Expanding In-Home Care Coverage is a Needed Evolution of Medicare (10/28) - Recent policy proposals, including one from the Harris-Walz campaign, have called for expanding coverage of in-home assistance with basic tasks that often become more difficult as people age, such as eating, bathing and dressing independently, to all Medicare beneficiaries with established care needs. In addition to addressing care needs that are often unmet or handled by unpaid family members, this type of program could help households more efficiently manage risks at older ages, expand the productive capacity of the economy by providing more flexibility to would-be unpaid caregivers, and potentially reduce reliance on other public programs.
Home Health Care News: Help at Home Adds 1,300 Caregivers, 1,500 Clients Through Latest Acquisition (10/23) - Help at Home, a home care provider, announced its expansion in Florida through its acquisition of Caregiver Services Inc. Through the acquisition, Help at Home will manage home care services in these communities, primarily made up of Medicaid and private-pay populations in 49 counties. Help at Home will continue to expand its capabilities to nurture the client-caregiver relationship and focus on its growth strategy, including further expansion in other markets where the company is rooted, as well as expansion in new states.
Miami’s Community Newspapers: Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital Launches Hospital Care at Home (10/22) - Cleveland Clinic announced it is expanding its Hospital Care at Home program to Weston and Broward County. Hospital Care At Home allows patients to receive hospital-level acute care in the comfort of their own homes. During its first 18 months, Hospital Care At Home has reduced hospital readmissions and helped more than 1,800 patients recover successfully at home.
Providence: Providence and Compassus Announce Joint Venture for Home-Based Care Services (10/22) - Providence, a not-for-profit health system, and Compassus, a national provider of integrated home-based care services, are partnering on home health, hospice, community-based palliative care and private duty caregiving services. The new entity will be called Providence at Home with Compassus. Both organizations are committed to high-quality care and will work closely to ensure continuity of care for patients and their families.
Home Health Care News: ‘First Of Its Kind’ Home-Based Care Workforce Initiative Launches In Indiana (10/21) - The Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care (IAHHC) has introduced C.A.R.E. (Creating Action and Resources for Employees) Connect, a new workforce support program for direct caregivers. Funding for the program is provided by UnitedHealthcare.
Forbes: Will We Ever Expand Medicare To Cover Home Care For Elders? (10/21) - In this op-ed, Carolyn Rosenblatt, a former nurse, shares her thoughts on expanding Medicare to cover care at home. In her experience, she does not think it likely that Medicare will be expanded to include a very expensive feature: paying anything for so-called custodial care at home. As public benefits are a source of controversy in every election year, current proposals to give Medicare recipients long term care at home is certain to be a continuing political flash point.
American Hospital Association: Taking Action to Extend Telehealth and Hospital-at-Home Programs (10/18) - The American Hospital Association released a statement in response to the CMS report on hospital at home. Improved technology has made telehealth services available for some time, providing increased access and convenience for patients. The regulatory waivers implemented during the pandemic allowed broader portions of the population to experience the benefits of virtual care. The expansion of telehealth services has transformed care delivery, expanded access for millions of Americans and increased convenience in caring for patients, especially those with transportation or mobility limitations, and those in rural communities. AHA will continue to push for permanency.
GE HealthCare: The Future of Care: GE HealthCare and Biofourmis Collaborate to Offer Virtual Patient Monitoring Outside the Hospital (10/16) - To tackle the current challenges faced by health systems and enhance post-acute care services, GE HealthCare and Biofourmis, a technology company enabling care delivery, began a strategic collaboration this year with the goal of helping our customers return eligible patients to their homes earlier and with the comfort and peace of mind that they will continue to receive high-quality care.
Home Health Care News: Study Shows Caregivers, Patients Prefer Hospital-At-Home Model (10/16) - The rise of in-home alternatives to traditional hospital care is raising concerns about the potential strain these models may place on family caregivers. DispatchHealth conducted a study analyzing the impact of the HaH model on caregivers’ lives and well-being. Roughly 95% of respondents strongly preferred in-home care over the traditional hospital setting, with 68% stating a solid preference for hospital-level care in the home. This study suggests that in-home care for qualified patients with appropriate conditions often provides a better caregiver experience in a more relaxed, convenient and less taxing environment than in traditional hospital settings.
PR Newswire: Vivalink Launches No-Cost Hospital-at-Home Starter Program for Nonprofit Hospitals (10/15) - Vivalink, a provider of digital health care solutions, announced the launch of its Hospital-at-Home (HaH) Starter Program for nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. As HaH has continued to gain momentum with initiatives such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services waiver, this program offers hospitals a practical way to explore remote patient monitoring solutions for acute care at home, at no cost.
Bloomberg Law: Medicare Hospital-at-Home Extension Finds Support Amid Scrutiny (10/7) - Congress and the stakeholder community continue to work on extending a pandemic-era program that allows hospitals to bill Medicare for acute inpatient care provided at home, even though it’s unclear if it actually saves money and provides equivalent care. Lawmakers from both parties are big supporters, with one proposal (H.R. 8261) advancing unanimously out of the House Ways and Means Committee.
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