|
The Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI) unveiled its first annual Snapshot of the Unmet Need for Home-based Medical Care in the U.S. with the launch of its new website. Built from a comprehensive analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2023 Traditional Medicare Claims, the Snapshot provides a national view of the supply and demand of home-based medical care, spotlighting the critical need to expand access to this needed type of care.
Click here to view an interactive U.S. map, an extension of the Snapshot, where you can see statistics nationally and by state. As you will see, the home-based medical care (HBMC) situation is critical: 83% of frail patients, living across 36 states, need HBMC but are not receiving appropriate care.
Looking deeper into the statistics, HCCI’s Director of Research & Analytics, Aaron Yao, Ph.D., found that 14 states, including West Virginia, South Dakota, Iowa, and New Mexico (among the most in need), should be considered HBMC “deserts” because more than 90% of those states’ frail residents need care but are not receiving it. Even in states with more HBMC programs, such as Nevada, Arizona, South Carolina, and Florida, there are many “deserts” in low-population density counties.
“Very clearly the national map indicates that frail patients living in rural and in underpopulated regions of the country are suffering the most,” Yao said. “It is the concentrated urban areas such as Tampa, Chicago, and New York that provide greater, albeit limited, access to HBMC.”
HCCI estimates at least 9,000 additional providers are needed to care for our nation’s frail patients. “Currently, there are only about 3,000 HMBC providers scattered throughout the country,” said Julie Sacks, president and COO of HCCI. “And, among that set of providers, the majority of their HBMC programs are small, only serving between 100-249 patients.”
HCCI will update the Snapshot annually. For more information about the need for house calls and how you can support HCCI’s mission to ensure that more of those who need house calls can get them, visit www.hccinstitute.org.
| 
