LHC Group Partners with SCP Health

LAFAYETTE, La. (July 9, 2021)—LHC Group, Inc., a national provider of in-home health care services and innovations for communities around the nation, and SCP Health, a national clinical leader in acute unscheduled care, announced the formation of a strategic partnership to jointly develop and deliver advanced clinical care services in the home. The partnership will provide a comprehensive offering of clinicians covering all aspects of home health care, including skilled nursing facility (SNF)-at-home and hospital-at-home programs.

The new partnership will offer these services to existing and new hospital and health system partners at a time when many providers and patients are increasingly searching for value-based care models and at-home care solutions. The partnership is expected to be a win-win-win for patients, hospitals and health systems, and payers alike for the efficiencies and outcomes derived from the ability to treat higher acuity patients in the most appropriate and cost-effective setting—the safety and comfort of their home or place of residence. With the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recent recommendation to expand its value-based purchasing program nationwide, there will be a premium placed on companies that can quickly take on risk and deliver proven value on a national scale.

The new partnership combines the best of LHC Group’s industry-leading in-home patient care, proprietary data analytics capabilities, clinical modeling and technologies with SCP Health’s top-quality clinicians and significant telehealth capabilities to deliver higher acuity care in the comfort, convenience and safety of the patient’s home. This innovative, clinician-led, proprietary model will elevate in-home care by harnessing the combined talent and experience of the physicians at SCP Health and the nurses, therapists, and physician extenders at LHC Group. This program will be driven by two highly experienced, clinically-guided entities joining forces to transform and enhance care in the home. LHC and SCP will begin engaging with their hospital partners and clients to launch new shared clinical models to advance care delivery in all appropriate settings of care.

LHC Group has equity joint ventures representing 435 hospitals across the country, currently collaborates with and receives patient referrals annually from a total of more than 3,600 hospitals and 64,000 unique physicians in 35 states and the District of Columbia, has over 30,000 employees, over 12 million patient encounters annually, and is licensed to serve more than 60 percent of the U.S. population aged 65 and older. SCP Health currently operates in more than 30 states, contracts with 7,500 physicians nationwide in 400 healthcare facilities, and manages more than 8 million patient encounters annually, including 2.25 million physician telehealth visits. SCP Health deploys emergency department physicians and hospitalists in 179 hospitals where LHC Group is either a joint venture partner or operates a home health agency in that market.

“Founded in Lafayette in 1994 with unrivaled experience in hospital partnerships, both organizations are recognized industry leaders with broad health care experience, innovative solutions, and a shared focus on working with health system partners to solve for local, regional, and national health care challenges,” said Rich D’Amaro, CEO, SCP Health. “We are pleased to partner with our colleagues at LHC Group to launch innovative, advanced in-home health care services. Together we will improve efficiency, manage patient conditions, and achieve the best possible health outcomes for patients in the most cost-effective setting—their home.”

“If this public health emergency has taught us anything, it is that we must all embrace innovative models that allow patients to receive quality care—including more advanced care—at home,” said Keith Myers, LHC Group chairman and CEO. “With SCP Health’s proven track record for deploying successful models of care to improve patient health and efficiencies, they are an ideal partner for this expansion of our existing SNF at home and hospital-at-home capabilities. Between our skilled nursing and allied health personnel workforce, and SCP Health’s network of physicians, we have the ‘clinical boots on the ground’ ready to implement this innovative program immediately and seamlessly.” 

“An increasing number of our hospital partners are asking us to stand up SNF and hospital-at-home programs. This is a natural progression of our SNF at home model we began to deploy in 2014, and an excellent opportunity for our Home Care Innovations segment to take center stage in the ongoing transition to value-based care. The time is right to leverage our direct experience of providing high acuity care in the home to better execute value-based programs on behalf of our hospital partners and payors,” added Myers.

Visit lhcgroup.com for more information.