Cone Health, the Greensboro, North Carolina, health system, is ending its hospital-at-home program after reviewing its priorities and the model's long-term sustainability, Becker's Hospital Review reported on Oct. 14. The program, which treated hospital-level patients in their own homes, will wind down during the fourth quarter, and current patients will continue to receive care during the transition.
The decision stands out because Medicare's payment pathway for these programs is no longer on a short leash. Congress extended the federal waiver through 2030 earlier this year. For patients and families, Cone's exit raises a practical question: if a program that reported no patient deaths or care-associated infections in its first year can close, how dependable is this kind of care?
