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Hospital-at-Home could be the biggest healthcare delivery breakthrough in decades, but it almost disappeared last month.
On November 12, President Trump signed legislation that restored Medicare’s Hospital-at-Home program after it briefly lapsed on October 1. This wasn’t just bureaucratic paperwork – it was a lifeline for thousands of patients receiving acute hospital care in their homes right now.
Here’s why this matters to every healthcare leader:
🏥 Scale: 419 hospitals across 39 states now deliver hospital-level care at home, with daily patient volumes rivaling small hospitals. Mass General Brigham plans to expand to 250 home beds.
💰 Cost: Hospital-at-Home delivers 30% lower costs per admission compared to traditional hospital care. That’s transformative in our cost-constrained environment.
📊 Outcomes: The data is compelling. Hospital-at-Home programs show:
• Lower mortality rates
• Reduced 30-day readmissions (6.5-11% vs 15-23% in traditional hospitals)
• Fewer hospital-acquired infections
• Significantly less delirium (9% vs 24%)
• Higher patient satisfaction scores
🚑 Capacity: Each patient treated at home frees a hospital bed for someone who truly needs it, effectively expanding capacity without building costs.
The hybrid delivery model combines in-person clinical visits with remote monitoring, virtual check-ins, and 24/7 command center support. It’s not telehealth – it’s a complete reinvention of acute care delivery.
While the program now has breathing room until January 2026, healthcare leaders are advocating for permanent authorization through the Telehealth Modernization Act and Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act.
The future of healthcare will increasingly move into the home. CMS projections suggest up to 25% of Medicare services ($265 billion) could shift to home-based care by the end of 2025.
The big question: Is your organization positioned to lead this transition or play catch-up?
What has your experience been with Hospital-at-Home programs?
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Author:
CEO/Co-Founder @ Oatmeal Health | AI Lung Cancer Screening | Almost Became a Doctor | Engineer | Follow to Share What I’ve Learned Along the Way
I help patients get the care they need earlier, preventing late-stage cancer.
That’s been the throughline across three companies and almost 20 years in healthcare. At ReferralMD, we fixed broken referral networks so patients didn’t fall through the cracks. At Oatmeal Health, it’s lung cancer: building the diagnostic and screening infrastructure so the 85% of cases caught too late get caught early instead.
Today as CEO of Oatmeal Health, I lead a team embedding AI into radiology workflows to turn routine lung CT scans into reimbursable cancer risk assessments. We partner with FQHCs to reach underserved communities, and with health systems and payers to make early detection economically sustainable. Think HeartFlow or Cleerly, but for lungs.
Between companies, I advised at Techstars and Plug and Play, mentoring founders building in digital health. That experience shaped how I think about what separates companies that ship from companies that stall: distribution, reimbursement, and clinical trust, not just technology.
I’m a CancerX alumnus, a 3x healthcare founder, and someone who believes the biggest problems in cancer aren’t scientific. They’re operational.
We’re hiring mission-driven builders at Oatmeal Health. If you want to work on something that matters, reach out.
When I’m not working, I’m traveling, mentoring, and keeping up with one very energetic husky. 🐾
Substack – The Oatmeal Bite:
Millions of patients get less care because of who they are, where they live, or how they look. I’m fighting to change that. CEO @OatmealHealth, a startup built for the underserved. The Oatmeal Bite: intel for clinicians, investors, and advocates.
Jonathan Govette
CEO of Oatmeal Health
Substack:
https://oatmealhealthjonathangovette.substack.com/
