Feds Expanding Home Healthcare

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has undertaken a project to expand home health services to the elderly.

The Independence at Home Demonstration Project is designed to provide Medicare beneficiaries with comprehensive primary care services in their homes. The current home health benefits only cover limited services – skilled nursing care and therapy for existing conditions. 

The goal of the project, according to a release by CMS, is to “allow healthcare providers to spend more time with their patients, perform assessments in a patient’s home, and assume greater accountability for all aspects of the patient’s care.” 

Home-based care is designed, according to CMS, to “improve overall quality of care and quality of life for patients served, while lowering healthcare costs by forestalling the need for care in institutional settings.”

During the project, chronically ill patients will be receiving home-based primary care for three years. The beneficiaries care experiences and services received will be tracked during that time. Beneficiaries had to have at least two chronic conditions; be covered by original Medicare; need assistance with at least two “functional dependencies” like walking; and have been hospitalized and received rehabilitation during the past year. 

The practices taking part in the program were required to demonstrate experience providing home-based care to chronically ill patients. The groups are primary care teams that include pharmacists, social workers and other staff. 

Providers will receive incentive payments in the program if they are able to meet quality standards and create Medicare savings (i.e., if their expenditures are less than what CMS’ expected costs are for the beneficiaries).

Participating providers in the Midwest region include:

• Cleveland Clinic Home Care Services Medical Care at Home Program (Independence, Ohio) 

• Visiting Physicians Association, P.C. – Flint/Saginaw/Marysville (Flint, Mich.) 

• Visiting Physicians Association, P.C. – Lansing/Ann Arbor (Okemos, Mich.) 

• Visiting Physicians Association, P.C. – Milwaukee (West Allis, Wis.) 

• Innovative Primary Senior Care LLC (Skokie, Ill.)