CMS Releases Acute Hospital Care at Home Study

Patients who receive hospital care at home generally have lower mortality rates than their brick-and-mortar inpatient counterparts, according to a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report on the Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative.CMS said it's difficult to conclude that the Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative resulted in lower Medicare spending overall as compared to brick-and-mortar inpatient care.The COVID-19 initiative was extended past the end of the public health emergency, but is scheduled to expire at the end of this year. Congressional action is needed to extend the Acute Hospital Care at Home waivers.The CMS study examined the quality of care for patients treated in the inpatient hospital setting, as compared to individuals with similar conditions and characteristics treated at home. AHCAH patients were found to be meaningfully different from inpatients receiving services furnished by the same hospital facility, CMS said.