Medicare funds at-home doctor visits

A three-year Medicare demonstration program in California's Northern San Joaquin Valley is bringing back an almost extinct medical practice--at-home doctor's visits. The purpose of the program is to provide medical care to chronically ill patients before their problems escalate and land them in the hospital. Though only about 5 percent of Medicare patients have multiple chronic conditions, they are the most expensive to treat and rack up an incredible 40 percent of all Medicare costs. Finding a way to prevent these costs could save Medicare a bundle. "Medicare officials plan to analyze the program's results after three years," reports the Modesto Bee. "The patients will be compared with a control group to determine if they received better care and [if] the Medicare system saved money."

For more on the at-home care program:
- read the Modesto Bee's report