Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model Lowered Medicare Spending

 The Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model reduced Medicare spending by $1.38 billion and improved care quality during its first six years, according to a report from CMS. The model aimed to improve the quality of home healthcare services for Medicare beneficiaries by providing financial incentives to home health agencies for quality improvements. The model was associated with slight declines in three patient experience measures that rate professionalism, communication, and discussion of care by agencies. But the model improved home health patients’ mobility, self-care, and other aspects of functional status, the report noted. There was some growth in disparities among beneficiaries with Medicaid under the model. Racial and ethnic minority beneficiaries were more likely to live in areas with lower-quality home health agencies, with variation observed among individual counties and across subpopulations.