“Home health spending outpacing rate of national healthcare spending”

“Home health spending outpacing rate of national healthcare spending,” by Diane Eastabrook, McKnight’s Home Care

Quote:

“Spending on home healthcare rose by 10.5% in August, more than double the 4.9% increase in healthcare spending overall, according to a new report by research and consulting firm Altarum. Spending on skilled nursing care wasn’t far behind, expanding by 10.2%. … Demand for home health services have outpaced those for skilled nursing over the past two years. A report last spring found discharges to home health between the second quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2021 increased by 2.5% to 24.1% of total inpatient discharges, while the number of patients released to SNFs declined by 2.4% to 18.6% of total discharges.”

 

LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:

Experts thought rebalancing from nursing homes to home care would save money. That prospect isn’t panning out as I’ve always predicted. Research shows that home care delays, but doesn’t necessarily replace institutional care over a lifetime or across society. People want home care and they should have it, but when government pays for most of it, shortages and quality problems predominate. They’re worsening as inflation from excessive public spending and money printing increases.