Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Conditions in Medicare Advantage In-Home Health Risk Assessments.

The proportion of cardiovascular conditions diagnosed during in-home HRAs increased from 2018 to 2022 among Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, reaching up to 73.9% for peripheral vascular disease.

• Why it matters: Understanding how in-home HRAs influence diagnosis and treatment is crucial because they may impact care quality and resource allocation, especially given concerns about increased risk-adjusted payments without improved outcomes.
• What they did: The study analyzed Medicare claims for over 21 million beneficiaries, using multivariable logistic regression to examine trends in diagnoses during in-home HRAs versus facility visits and to assess associated characteristics and treatment rates.
• The result: While more cardiovascular conditions are diagnosed through in-home HRAs, treatment rates following these diagnoses are substantially lower than after facility-based encounters, highlighting potential gaps in subsequent care.