Third-year results of the national Medicare study released
For Immediate Release: February 21, 2019
Independence at Home
Portland, Ore. — Third-year results from the five-year, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Independence at Home (IAH) Demonstration Project were recently released. Housecall Providers was once again one of the highest-performing sites with a savings of 23.7 percent in patient health costs compared to a local control group that did not receive homebased primary care. This constitutes a savings of $535 per patient every month.
Seven out of 15 participating practices saved approximately 4.7 percent equating to $16.3 million, an average of $1,431 per applicable beneficiary. In this third year, 11,382 beneficiaries were enrolled in the demonstration, up from 10,000 the previous year. Additionally, 14 of the 15 practices improved on at least one quality measure from performance Year Two. Housecall Providers was one of the five practices that met the performance thresholds for all six quality measures, and in doing so, received an incentive payment totaling $570,777.
“I am extremely proud of our staff that we once again achieved all of the quality measures,” says Housecall Providers CEO Rebecca Ramsay, MPH. “That we are able to save money by delivering home-based primary care without sacrificing quality speaks to the effectiveness and efficiency of this model.”
IAH tests a service delivery and payment incentive model designedto improve health outcomes for people with chronic conditions, though the utilization of home-based primary care teams. In the study’s first two years, Housecall Providers showed a 32 percent savings and the following year reported a 24 percent savings over the control group.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 authorized CMS to extend the demonstration for an additional two years. The extension period will begin January 1, 2019, and is scheduled to end December 31, 2020.
“Members of the IAH consortium are further encouraged that these promising results will continue to move the national conversation toward the necessity of instituting a permanent, value-based payment model so all who need home-based care will one day be able to receive it,” says Ramsay.
Year Three Result Fact Sheet is available here.
To view this release as a PDF, click here.
Company Contact:
Barb Gorman
Sr. Marketing, Communications and Development Manager
Housecall Providers
971-202-5535
About Housecall Providers
Housecall Providers is a Portland area nonprofit organization and one of the largest providers of medical care exclusively in the home in the Western United States. We are proving that in home medical services for homebound patients can improve health outcomes, increase patient comfort and reduce health care costs. We are a proud part of the CareOregon family of health organizations.