Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
What's Next For Medicare's 'Hospital Care At Home' Program?
In November 2020, Medicare officials announced that, while the federally declared public health emergency continued, hospitals could apply for a waiver of certain reimbursement requirements — notably, for 24/7 on-site nursing care. Hospitals whose applications were approved would receive the same payment for hospital-at-home care as for in-hospital care. Since then, Medicare has granted waivers to 256 hospitals in 37 states, including to Mount Sinai in New York City and to Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Temple, Texas. Initially, hospital-at-home programs treated mostly common acute illnesses like pneumonia, urinary tract infections and heart failure; more recently they have also started dealing with liver disease treatments, post-surgical care and aspects of cancer care. (Span, 11/19)
The two plans operate quite differently, and the health and financial consequences can be dramatic. Each has, well, advantages — and disadvantages. (Span, 11/20)
KHN: Audits — Hidden Until Now — Reveal Millions In Medicare Advantage Overcharges
Newly released federal audits reveal widespread overcharges and other errors in payments to Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors, with some plans overbilling the government more than $1,000 per patient a year on average. Summaries of the 90 audits, which examined billings from 2011 through 2013 and are the most recent reviews completed, were obtained exclusively by KHN through a three-year Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, which was settled in late September. (Schulte and Hacker, 11/21)
Axios takes a deeper dive into caregiving in America —
Aging baby boomers in the U.S. are living longer and have better financial safety nets than previous generations. They're also more likely to be divorced, live far away from their children and be living with debt and a chronic condition. (Reed, 11/19)
Private capital is pouring into the reshaping of elder care. (Pringle, 11/19)
Long-term care will become an increasingly elusive need for aging baby boomers in the next decade, forcing some to spend down their assets in order to qualify for Medicaid. (Goldman, 11/19)
Older Latinos — especially those who are noncitizens or live in poverty — are often kept from the health care resources advertised to help Americans age comfortably, researchers and advocates told Axios. (Moreno, 11/19)
