Government Shutdown Forces Thousands Back to Hospitals, Strains Home-Care Programs Nationwide

The 2025 federal government shutdown has severely disrupted Medicare-funded home healthcare programs, notably the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) initiative, forcing thousands of patients to return to crowded hospital wards amid rising flu and COVID-19 cases. This program, which enabled inpatient-quality care at home through telehealth and remote monitoring, has been paused or scaled back by hospitals such as UMass Memorial Health and ChristianaCare, leading to increased hospital admissions and strain on emergency services. The shutdown has also ended pandemic-era Medicare waivers for telehealth services, compelling patients in remote areas to make in-person visits, thus complicating care access for older adults like Carol Sharpe from Puget Sound. Long-term care providers face growing uncertainty and must decide whether to continue telehealth services without guaranteed reimbursement, worsening challenges already intensified by economic conditions and reduced rural healthcare availability. This disruption highlights broader systemic issues, including the mismatch between the aging population's desire to age in place and the inadequate housing stock and care infrastructure to support that goal, raising concerns about the future of affordable, home-based elder care. Overall, the shutdown's impact extends beyond immediate healthcare access, affecting the financial security and well-being of older Americans reliant on these critical services.