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House Call: In-Home Primary Care Led to Lower Costs, Better Care, Says CMS Analysis

An overwhelming majority of seniors prefer to age and receive care in their homes.

A small CMS program is allowing them to do that – and achieving not only savings for the Medicare program, but higher quality care, as well.

Providing at-home primary care to chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries led to savings for the Medicare program and higher quality care, according to an analysis released this month by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

From CMS:

The CMS analysis found that, for the second performance year, Independence at Home participants saved Medicare more than $10 million – an average of $1,010 per beneficiary – while delivering higher quality patient care in the home. CMS will award incentive payments of $5.7 million to seven participating practices that succeeded in reducing spending while improving quality.

In the second performance year, 15 practices served more than 10,000 Medicare beneficiaries. According to the CMS analysis, all 15 practices improved quality from the first performance year in at least two of the six quality measures for the Demonstration. Four practices met the performance measures for all six quality measures.

These quality results mean improved care for Medicare beneficiaries who are participating in Independence at Home practices. On average, beneficiaries:

* Have follow-up contact from their provider within 48 hours of a hospital admission, hospital discharge, or emergency room visit;

* Have fewer hospital readmissions within 30 days;

* Have their medication identified by their provider within 48 hours of discharge from the hospital;

* Have their preferences documented by their provider;

* Use inpatient hospital and emergency room services less for conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, pneumonia, or urinary tract infection.

The nitty-gritty results can be read here.

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