Hospital at home program halting as Medicare waiver ends
UMass Memorial Medical Center’s Hospital at Home Program Faces Uncertainty
The hospital at home program at UMass Memorial Medical Center has been a lifeline for dozens of patients who would otherwise be waiting in crowded emergency department hallways for a hospital room. However, the future of this program is now in jeopardy as UMass Memorial has stopped admitting patients into its home hospital program due to uncertainty surrounding the reauthorization of the program by lawmakers in Washington.
Constantinos Michaelidis, the medical director of hospital at home at UMass Memorial, expressed concern about the impact of losing the beds in the home hospital program on the health system’s ability to care for its community. The hospital at home program, which allows for inpatient hospital care to be delivered in patients’ homes, was created during the pandemic and has since been extended several times. However, the latest extension is set to expire on September 30.
UMass Memorial is not the only health system facing challenges due to the potential expiration of the hospital at home waiver program. Hospitals across the country, including Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey and Mass General Brigham in Boston, have already stopped admitting patients to their home hospital programs in anticipation of the deadline.
Dr. David Levine, a physician at Mass General Brigham and a leader in the hospital at home field, estimates that there are approximately 1,000 hospital at home beds nationwide. While hospital at home programs are still relatively new, they have proven to be a valuable resource for hospitals facing capacity constraints.
Arjun Venkatesh, a physician and professor at Yale School of Medicine, emphasized that hospital at home programs exist in areas where hospital capacity is already strained. While hospital at home is not a complete solution to hospital overcrowding, it does provide some relief by freeing up beds in traditional hospital settings.
Despite the potential challenges ahead, hospital leaders like Stephen Dorner from Mass General Brigham are exploring alternative options for providing care to patients who would have been eligible for the hospital at home program. However, the uncertainty surrounding the reauthorization of the program poses a significant challenge for hospitals that have invested in expanding their home hospital initiatives.
As hospitals grapple with the impending deadline for the reauthorization of the hospital at home program, the future of inpatient care delivery remains uncertain. The bipartisan bill to extend the program for five years offers some hope, but hospital leaders are calling for a longer waiver extension to provide stability and support for these critical programs.
