TL;DR
Get oils, diffusers and self-care delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
Paul Kusserow, speaking at Home Health Care News’ FUTURE conference in August, said home health providers should expand beyond episodic clinical visits to support people with chronic conditions over longer periods. He described a model that combines skilled care, trained and paid family caregivers, technology and attention to daily needs, while the scale and financing of such changes remain unsettled.
Paul Kusserow, the CEO and executive chairman of Careforth and chairman of Elara Caring, said home health providers should move beyond episodic, clinician-led visits toward longer-term care models that combine skilled services, family caregivers and technology. Speaking at Home Health Care News’ FUTURE conference in August, he argued the broader approach is needed to support people living with chronic illness and to make care at home more workable for providers taking on financial risk.
Kusserow said the traditional visit-based model does not, on its own, address the continuing needs of people with chronic conditions. He called for care that includes clinical services alongside help with activities of daily living, social needs and caregiver support. Providers, he said, will need to take responsibility for care over longer periods rather than focus only on individual clinical encounters.
He pointed to family caregivers as a major part of that model. Careforth, a Boston-based company serving home-based caregivers in nine states, identifies eligible family members or others in a recipient’s home, trains and pays them, and provides resources, clinical backup and breaks, Kusserow said. For people receiving care through a Medicaid waiver, he said, Careforth pays caregivers $50 a day for 24/7 care. That figure describes the company’s model, not a general payment rate for family caregiving.
Kusserow also called for providers to develop more specialized services for higher-acuity needs and specific diseases. He said information gathered across patients could help care teams identify risks and decide when intervention is needed. Technology, in his view, can support continuity and individualized care, but it is one element of a model that also relies on trained people in the home and clinical oversight.
Home Care’s Shift Toward Longer-Term Support
The proposal matters because it would broaden what home health organizations are expected to do. A provider focused mainly on scheduled clinical visits may have limited ability to address daily routines, caregiver strain or changes in a patient’s condition between visits. Kusserow’s model puts those needs inside a longer-term plan, with family members and community resources helping with nonclinical tasks while clinicians retain responsibility for skilled care.
That approach could also affect how providers manage costs and outcomes. Kusserow said recurring hospitalizations can become economically difficult for health plans and government payers when people live for years with chronic diseases. He sees an opportunity for home-based providers to help people remain at home and reduce avoidable institutional care. Those are his assessments of the market opportunity; the conference remarks do not establish that a particular model will reduce admissions or costs.
Caregiver support is a large-scale issue. AARP estimated that 59 million family caregivers helped an adult relative, neighbor or friend with daily activities in 2024, and valued adult caregiving at $1.01 trillion that year. Those figures describe the scale and estimated economic value of unpaid care, not the amount paid by health systems or a forecast of savings from any one program.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Kusserow’s Roles Across Home Care
Kusserow has held senior roles across home-based care and the wider health sector. He led Amedisys as CEO and chairman from 2014 to 2025; UnitedHealth acquired the company in a $3.3 billion deal that closed in August 2025. He became Careforth’s CEO in June 2026 and joined Elara Caring’s board in August. He is also executive chairman of Unified Women’s Healthcare and serves on the board of Matrix Medical Network.
Careforth provides payment, resources and support for home-based caregivers across nine states. Elara Caring, based in Dallas, offers skilled home health, hospice, behavioral health and personal care in 18 states. These roles give Kusserow direct involvement in companies with different parts of the home-care system, though his comments at the conference were a vision for the sector rather than an announced industry-wide policy.
The data on unpaid care cited in the report also includes a separate AARP finding: 63% of the estimated 59 million caregivers provided care each month in 2024. The estimate helps describe how frequently many families contribute care, but it does not specify what share of caregiving could be shifted to paid programs.
“That’s going to be a combination of skilled care and unskilled care.”
— Paul Kusserow, speaking at HHCN’s FUTURE conference
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Funding and Results Remain Open
Kusserow’s remarks set out a direction, not a detailed implementation plan. The conference account does not specify how many providers are adopting this approach, what it would cost to expand it, or how payment systems would compensate organizations for caregiver training, daily support and technology. It also does not give outcome data showing whether Careforth’s model reduces hospital use or improves health outcomes.
The reported $50 daily payment applies to the Careforth example Kusserow described. Eligibility rules, state-by-state arrangements and the extent to which the payment covers caregivers’ time are not detailed in the account. It is also unclear how widely similar arrangements could be used beyond Medicaid waiver programs or how clinical responsibility would be divided in different settings.
Technology’s proposed role remains broad. Kusserow cited collecting information across large groups of people with the same condition to improve risk identification and care decisions, but he did not describe a specific product, data standard, privacy approach or timetable. The practical effects will depend on how providers put those tools into use and whether they can integrate them with care teams and caregiver support.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Providers Face a Model-Building Test
The next steps Kusserow described are operational: develop disease-specific services, train and support family caregivers, connect skilled clinicians with nonclinical help, and use data to guide care over time. Providers considering such changes will need to determine how those responsibilities fit their staffing, state programs and payer contracts.
Careforth’s existing caregiver-support model offers one example of how payment, training and ongoing assistance can be organized, while Elara Caring’s services span several parts of home-based care. The conference remarks did not announce a new Careforth or Elara program, a rollout schedule or a set of performance targets. Further details about investment, coverage and measurable results would be needed to show how broadly the proposed model can be adopted.
chronic illness management technology
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
What does Kusserow mean by the “next version” of home health?
He means a model that goes beyond episodic clinician visits and combines skilled care, support for daily activities, family caregivers and technology over a longer period.
What does Careforth provide to family caregivers?
Kusserow said Careforth offers eligible caregivers training, payment, resources, clinical backup and breaks. He cited a payment of $50 a day for 24/7 care for caregivers of people receiving care through a Medicaid waiver.
Did Kusserow announce a new home-health program?
No. His comments at HHCN’s FUTURE conference described a direction he believes the industry should take. The report did not announce a new program or rollout by Careforth or Elara Caring.
How large is the family caregiving population cited in the report?
AARP estimated that 59 million family caregivers helped an adult family member, neighbor or friend with daily activities in 2024. It estimated the economic value of adult caregiving that year at $1.01 trillion.
Is there evidence in the report that this model reduces hospitalizations?
The report provides Kusserow’s view that home-based care could help manage chronic illness and avoid unnecessary institutional care, but it does not present outcome data proving that the model reduces hospitalizations or costs.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
