Dive Brief:
- A CMS analysis finds that the 17 participants of the Independence at Home Demonstration saved an average of $3,070 each in the program's first year, for a total of more than $25 million in savings. The program provides at-home primary care services for chronically-ill Medicare beneficiaries.
- All of the involved practices were able to improve quality in at least three of the program's six quality measures, and four of them were able to meet all six.
- CMS announced that it will award $11.7 million in incentive payments to nine of the top participating practices.
Dive Insight:
The Independence at Home program's success in its first year indicates value to the model. "This is a great common sense way for Medicare beneficiaries to get better quality care with smarter spending from Medicare," said CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt.
Among the benefits CMS reports for these patients:
- Fewer hospital readmissions within 30 days
- Follow-up contact from their provider within 48 hours of a hospital admission, hospital discharge, or emergency department visit
- Medications identified by their provider within 48 hours of discharge from the hospital
- Preferences documented by their provider
- Use inpatient hospital and emergency department services less for conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, pneumonia or urinary tract infection.
According to Healthcare Finance, the nine participants that will receive practice incentive payments are:
- Doctors Making Housecalls, $275,427
- Housecall Providers, Inc., $1.2 million
- North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health Care, $542,323
- VPA Jacksonville, $711,527
- VPA Dallas, $1.7 million
- VPA Flint, $2.9 million
- VPA Lansing, $1 million
- VPA Milwaukee, $1.4 million
- Mid-Atlantic Consortium, $1.8 million.
The other participants in the program are Boston Medical Center, Christiana Care Health System, Cleveland Clinic Home Care Services, Doctors on Call, MD2U-KY, MD2U-IN, House Call Doctors, Inc., Treasure Coast and Innovative Primary Care.