“CMS: Home healthcare spending estimated to grow by 7.1 percent from 2025 to 2026, surpassing other sectors”

“CMS: Home healthcare spending estimated to grow by 7.1 percent from 2025 to 2026, surpassing other sectors,” by Adam Healy, McKnights Home Care

“Between 2025 and 2026, national spending on home health care is expected to increase by 7.1%, a data analysis published Wednesday in Health Affairs revealed. Projected spending growth in home health care should outpace all other categories including hospital care services (4.9%), physician and clinical services (4.8%) and nursing homes care (4.8%), and it is expected to grow even faster during the following years. Between 2027 and 2032, the sector will see spending growth of 8.1%, compared to hospital spending (5.6%), physician and clinical services (5.5%) and nursing home care (6%).”

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

Wait. Haven’t the “experts” told us for decades that “rebalancing” from nursing homes to home care would save money? But this new report shows SNF and CCRC spending nearly doubling in the next decade while home health care expenditures shoot up and off the chart. The sad reality is that home care adds to total LTC expenditures because people who receive it end up needing nursing homes later anyway. All that means is that we need better LTC financing policy to make home care and institutional care affordable. For how to make that happen, see the Paragon Health Institute’s “Long-Term Care: The Problem” and “Long-Term Care: The Solution” and watch this “virtual LTC event” featuring age wave visionary Ken Dychtwald and leading LTC researchers.