Hospital-at-home programs have the opportunity to bring savings to hospitals and health systems and greater comfort to patients, yet only 10 percent of care can realistically move into the home, Stephen Dorner, MD, chief clinical and innovation officer for Mass General Brigham's home health care program, told Politico in a July 13 article.
Dr. Dorner said in order to increase that 10 percent, there needs to be better technological advances and reimbursement certainty. Changes to those two elements could push that 10 percent closer to 40, according to Dr. Dorner.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, home-based care programs saw a huge increase, with 300 hospitals in 37 states offering an option for patients to recover in their homes. But if Congress doesn't extend the pandemic waivers — which allowed hospitals to receive equivalent Medicare reimbursement rates for care provided in patients' homes — they will be set to expire at the end of 2024.
"The market is probably looking for greater certainty of what's going to happen come January 1, 2025, before we really see the explosion of technology," Dr. Dorner said.