Hospital-at-Home lags in Rural Settings. Is that a Problem?

When CMS launched its Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) waiver program in 2020, it ushered the hospital-at-home model into a new era. Nearly 400 hospitals have been approved for the waiver in the past five years, indicating the model's rising popularity. However, recently published research highlights geographic gaps, with urban hospitals far more likely than rural hospitals to adopt hospital-at-home programs.One can correctly surmise that financial challenges and resource constraints are keeping rural hospitals from participating more expansively in hospital-at-home efforts. But that is only part of the story.Rural health experts highlighted other reasons rural hospitals may be less inclined to adopt hospital-at-home programs, including the fact that they do not face the capacity constraints of their urban counterparts.