Independence at Home model saves $25 million in first year, CMS says

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will award $11.7 million in incentive payments to nine participating practices that succeeded in reducing Medicare expenditures and met designated goals for the first year of Independence at Home.

All 17 participants saved over $25 million in the program’s first performance year, according to CMS.

The CMS analysis found each Independence at Home participant on average saved $3,070 while delivering high quality patient care in the home, CMS said.

All 17 participating practices improved quality in at least three of the six quality measures for the demonstration in the first performance year, and four met all six quality measures, CMS stated.

The nine which will receive practice incentive payments, and the amounts, 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; and Mid-Atlantic Consortium, $1.8 million.

The other participants include 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.

The year-one spending target and expenditures per beneficiary per month ranged from $2,434 to $5,756 for over 8,400 Medicare beneficiaries.

The Independence at Home Demonstration provides chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries with primary care services in the home setting.

CMS analysis found these beneficiaries have fewer hospital readmissions within 30 days; have follow-up contact from their provider within 48 hours of a hospital admission, hospital discharge, or emergency department visit; have their medications identified by their provider within 48 hours of discharge from the hospital; have their preferences documented by their provider; and use inpatient hospital and emergency department services less for conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, pneumonia, or urinary tract infection.

The Independence at Home Demonstration is part of the Affordable Care Act’s initiative to rewards doctors based on quality, not quantity of care.

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