Allegheny Health, ChristianaCare Take Major Steps to Expand Hospital-at-Home
Becker's Hospital Review
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Contributed by: Kate Gamble
Summary
Hospital-at‑Home 2.0 marks the shift from pandemic-era pilot programs to large-scale, strategic adoption by health systems looking to deeply integrate inpatient care at home. Launched under CMS’s 2020 waiver, initial programs have expanded significantly—Allegheny Health Network grew from about 7-8 admissions per month in early 2024 to roughly 40; Mass General Brigham has moved into optimization, filling a 70-bed home unit and adding post‑op, oncology, and postpartum hypertension care; ChristianaCare built a centralized 24/7 command center and launched skilled‑nursing‑at‑home; and University of Chicago Medicine is partnering with payers to fortify financial sustainability. Across the board, systems are refining patient selection, scaling admission volumes, broadening eligibility, and preparing for potential shifts in federal reimbursement as the acute hospital care waiver faces possible expiration in September—underscoring the need for sustainable funding models and payer collaboration.
