What the Choose Home Care Act of 2021 Means for Your Agency
Author: Maxwell Healthcare Associates Posted: September 9, 2021
The Choose Home Care Act was introduced in July to increase access to home health after hospitalization. It would enable Medicare patients to receive additional care as an add-on to the existing Medicare home health benefit for 30 days after a discharge from the hospital. If enacted, the act would help patients recover from their illnesses in the comfort of their own home and increase personal satisfaction from both the patient and family. Plus, care in the home would prevent any spread of an infectious disease like COVID-19. But what does this all mean for agencies and patients?
Home health value-based purchasing model
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid implemented the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model to support greater quality of care among Medicare certified home health agencies. It incentivizes agencies to invest in creating more efficient and effective ways to deliver better care to patients. If the Choose Home Care Act passes, it would allow patients to recover at home instead of a skilled nursing home after hospitalization and prompt agencies to deliver personalized care in the patient’s home. This in turn will allow for an increase in reimbursement when an agency performs well in patient care quality scores relative to others in one’s state.
What it means for patients
If passed, the act would protect vulnerable seniors as they receive nursing home level of care in their home upon discharge from a hospital. The act would provide services such as skilled nursing, primary care, therapy, and remote patient monitoring to patients in their homes. It would also potentially expand access to care in the home for more Medicare beneficiaries.
The Choose Home Care Act was introduced to the Senate in July and was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Click here for more information on the current state of the bill.