Medicaid recipients who received hospital-at-home care in Massachusetts had strong outcomes, a new study found.
Here are eight things to know from the May study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society:
1. Researchers studied 906 acute hospital care at home episodes across four Massachusetts hospitals between November 2020 and September 2023.
2. Just 8% of patients were readmitted within 30 days after discharge from hospital-at-home care, while fewer than 1.2% were readmitted within three days.
3. Nine percent of patients were escalated from hospital at home back to a brick-and-mortar facility.
4. Researchers reported fewer than 11 in-program deaths (about 1.2%) during the study period. Only 1% of patients died within 30 days post-discharge.
5. Only 4% of patients were discharged to a skilled nursing facility or other post-acute facility.
6. The median total Medicaid and Medicare cost for a hospital-at-home episode was $11,622.
7. “We are excited to now have an evidence base that shows home hospital is effective for patients with Medicaid,” said lead author David Levine, MD, clinical director of research and development at Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham Healthcare at Home, in a statement to Becker’s. “We should see Medicaid agencies across the country adopting this evidence-based practice.”
8. “Too often, patients with complex needs are limited to traditional care settings. This study shows that hospital at home can deliver the same level of safety and quality, while allowing patients to heal where they’re most comfortable,” stated Constantinos “Taki” Michaelidis, hospital-at-home medical director at Worcester, Mass.-based UMass Memorial Health. “The results should give confidence to Medicaid leaders and integrated dual-eligible plans considering how to expand access to hospital-level care at home.”
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