Hospital-Based Home Health Agencies

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether increased hospital ownership of home health agencies (HHA) has contributed to the growth in Medicare home health costs. GAO noted that hospital-based HHA: (1) generally care for beneficiaries with less chronic conditions and provide fewer visits to patients than all other types of HHA, except those run by the government; and (2) it does not appear that hospital-based HHA are driving up Medicare costs any more than other types of HHA.