Advisory Board November 28, 2022
During the pandemic, hospital-at-home care became more common. Many hospital leaders believe it could continue to ease high patient loads, reduce costs, and improve outcomes—however, CMS waivers for these programs may end soon, leaving their future unclear.
More hospitals are investing in hospital-at-home care
Although hospital-at-home programs first began 30 years ago, they remained relatively uncommon due to a lack of Medicare reimbursement. However, this changed during the pandemic as Covid-19 surges overwhelmed hospitals.
In November 2020, CMS issued a waiver that would allow hospitals to be reimbursed for hospital-at-home care at the same rate as inpatient care while the Covid-19 public health emergency was in place. Since then, 114 health systems and 256 hospitals in 37 states have been...