Study Finds Home Health Saves Medicare Billions

WASHINGTON — Patients with at least one chronic disease
who used home health care after hospitalization saved Medicare $1.7
billion over a two-year period, according to a study released May
11.

The study, conducted by health care research
company Avalere Health, found that Medicare beneficiaries with
diabetes, COPD or congestive heart failure who used home health
care within three months of being discharged from a hospital cost
the program $1.71 billion less than similar patients who used other
forms of post-acute care. In addition, they had 24,000 fewer
rehospitalizations during the 2005-2006 study period.

The report concluded that if all of the chronic care patients
had used home health services early during post-hospital care,
Medicare could have saved an additional $1.77 billion over the
two-year timeframe.

The study was funded by the Alliance for Home Health Quality and
Innovation, but Avalere said it maintained sole discretion with
regard to study methods and interpretation of findings.

Significantly, 86 percent of people who qualify for Medicare
have at least one chronic condition and 40 percent have three or
more, Avalere said. But only 8.9 percent of Medicare beneficiaries
currently use home health services, a fact attributed in large part
to the program’s requirement that an individual be “homebound” and
unable to leave the home without significant assistance in order to
receive the benefit.

“Given the size of the chronic care Medicare population, any
serious effort to improve cost-effectiveness of Medicare benefits
will have to grapple with these patients,” said Avalere Director
Alexis Ahlstrom, adding that “additional research should be done to
determine the impact of home health on non-chronic care
patients.”

In a statement, AHHQI said it believes the unrealized savings
identified in the study could allow Medicare to save $31.1 billion
over the next 10 years by expanding access to home health for
chronic disease patients.

Read the complete “Medicare Spending and Rehospitalization for
Chronically Ill Medicare Beneficiaries: Home Health Use Compared to
Other Post-Acute Care Settings” report as a PDF.