In one new, experimental government program, nurses and medical technicians come to the home, instead of the patients coming to the hospital.
In 2012, Congress authorized a pilot program called Independence at Home. In the first test of the program, just 10,000 patients could sign up for the program. Qualified patients are those who tend to go in and out of the hospital for treatment of chronic conditions and are in need of daily living care. The idea is that caregivers, doctors, and skilled nurses coordinate to keep frail, elderly patients healthy and in their home.
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Ezekiel J Emanuel, Chairman of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that the program is "concierge care for the sickest, not the richest."
According to the Journal of American Geriatrics Society, the program could save Medicare tens of billions during the next 10 years if it is extended and made a permanent part of Medicare.
