Blake Moore Questions Experts on At-Home Healthcare Access and Telehealth

Access to Post-Acute Care

• 💡 Rep. Blake Moore highlighted data from the University of Utah indicating that most patients requiring specialized post-acute care need either home health care or skilled nursing facilities.
• ⚠️ While MedPAC has historically indicated sufficient access to home health care, Moore questioned whether this access measure is flawed and if MedPAC should adopt a new one.
• ❓ Ms. Graybert stated she does not believe MedPAC's measure of access for home health is flawed and supports their methodology, but acknowledged that access to care issues are always important in the Medicare program.

Telehealth in Rural Communities

• 🎯 Rep. Moore inquired about how Empath Health employs telehealth services to improve quality and what best practices could be employed elsewhere, especially for Medicare patients in rural areas.
• 🩺 Mr. Fleece explained that Empath Health, serving rural Florida, uses telemedicine as a critical component for ensuring access to care, including hospice eligibility recertification and communication for home-based care organizations.
• 🚀 Telemedicine is crucial for chronic disease and post-acute care patients in rural areas to reduce hospitalizations and readmissions.
• 🛰️ Empath Health is also seeking additional infrastructure investment, such as satellites or other technology, to ensure connectivity for rural communities, emphasizing that it's both a policy and technology infrastructure issue.

Post-Acute Care Capacity and Payment

• 🏥 Dr. Don Jilly noted that nationwide post-acute care facilities operated at approximately 85% capacity in 2019, a situation exacerbated by COVID-19.
• 🛏️ He stated that for the most part, beds are available, and the shrinking access is not due to bed availability but rather inadequate payment or restrictive criteria for patient access, citing Medicare Advantage challenges as a prime example.