Home Health Care Is A Bright Light During Covid-19 With An Even Brighter Future

The home health benefit provided by Medicare (and many other payers) encompasses a wide range of services that can be delivered in a patient’s home, including injections, post-operative and chronic wound care, rehabilitation, physical therapy, intravenous or nutrition therapy, etc. These types of services can be a life-line for vulnerable patients, including the Medicare population that is both at increased risk of developing serious complications from Covid-19, and more likely to suffer from chronic comorbidities — a potentially deadly combination.

Fortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to evaluate and provide regulatory waivers designed to increase access to home health services. In part as a result, the industry has also seen a dramatic increase in telehealth platform use in response to Covid-19; according to Forrester Research, telehealth visits are projected to top 1 billion in 2020.

Covid-19 has clearly proven itself as a health care innovation catalyst, reinforcing the benefits and growth potential of the home health care industry. And while broader utilization of home health care services continues to face a myriad of challenges — most notably from a cost, coverage and policy perspective — the future is brighter than ever before.

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