Hospital-level care at home poised to grow

Hospitals eager to ease overcrowding and insurers eager to lower costs are embracing the hospital-at-home concept, already employed by roughly two dozen health systems. Round-the-clock remote monitoring coupled with daily visits from health professionals make it possible to provide high-acuity care in the home. Proponents of the model say studies show in-home care is just as safe and less costly than hospital care and produces better outcomes in some cases. Projected cost savings of 30% over traditional hospital care costs may be good for insurers but challenging for hospitals. According to Kaiser Health News, Medicare gave the idea a boost in November when it agreed to pay for such care to help keep non-COVID-19 patients out of the hospital during the pandemic. (Kaiser Health News article, 5/24/21)