Homefront Insights

On November 21, 2019, California’s major power utility, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) announced that its latest round of systematized power outages had concluded and they would begin restoring power to the (more than 40,000) Northern California residents who had been without power for the duration of the week. For thousands of Californians, the outages were more than just a mere inconvenience, and for many, being unable to access electricity is a matter of life and death.

In January 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an expansion of its “value-based insurance design” (VBID) model for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. With the industry moving away from fee-for-service models and towards fee-for-value arrangements, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has advocated for the addition of carved-in hospice benefits to Medicare Advantage plans, including a test of this offering, starting in 2021.

Within the home health space, many of the current open home health employment opportunities involve very labor-intensive work for little pay, which trend analysts forecast could result in detrimental staffing shortages.

There is growing recognition among health care providers and payers of the need to address the often overlooked non-clinical issues that can impact care quality. These issues are often associated with social determinants of health, such as food insecurity, low health literacy, or need for transportation to fill prescriptions or attend physician appointments. Left unaddressed, they represent serious gaps in care that frequently lead to unplanned care and poor health outcomes.

The home is becoming the center of care. Services that have been traditionally offered only in doctors’ offices and hospitals are now being delivered directly to patients where they live.

Smartphones may soon convert patients’ homes into hybrid doctors’ offices, making access easier, especially for elderly and disabled patients. The cost savings may be considerable.

How remote monitoring tools and tele-health services are proving their value in helping post-acute care providers deliver improved results.