UnityPoint, Senior Solutions Defining What ‘Valuable Services’ Look Like in the Home

As a result of the COVID-19 emergency, there has been an increase in new home-based care models such as SNF at home and, most notably, hospital at home. The latter saw an uptick when the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced its “Acute Hospital Care At Home” waiver program in 2020.

“Hospital at home and SNF at home are examples of value-based care, in that they promise to improve a patient’s experience getting care where they really want to receive that care — in the home,” Andy Eilert, president of emerging markets at WellSky, said at the Home Health Care News Home Care Conference. “[These models] improve outcomes and lower costs, ultimately driving value.”

While upside is high, innovative home-based care models do require changes to how health systems, payers and providers have traditionally operated, he noted. “They require significant coordination between payers, acute care systems and home-based providers,” Eilert said.