Trends in Home Healthcare: The Future of Home-Based Care
What does the future hold for home-based care? As older adults requiring more complicated care opt to age at home, the industry has responded with technologies and strategies to improve the quality of care they can receive outside of a hospital or residential setting. Below we take a look at these trends in at-home care, including the:
- Increasing aging population
- Rising healthcare costs
- Development of technology-based solutions
- Push towards customized care
Aging-in-place: An aging population prefers home care
As the population of the United States continues to age, this demographic shift provides the impetus for many of the trends in home-based care. According to the data and analytics company Definitive Healthcare, this “rapid aging of the U.S. population will continue to shape healthcare demand and expenditures in 2026.” In 2024, 61.2 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population were 65 and older. “Forecasts indicate that this demographic will grow even further: by 2030, 1 in 5 Americans (20.7%) will be aged 65+.”
This population overwhelmingly wants to “age at home,” using the benefits of home-based care. “While 98% of people would prefer to stay in their own homes as they age, changing health needs mean that’s not always possible,” notes the Mayo Clinic.
This rising population of aging Americans also share increasingly complex combinations of conditions that require sophisticated care. Definitive Healthcare points out that “Chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and dementia are rising sharply.” In fact “about 93% of adults age 65 and older live with at least one chronic condition, and nearly 79% live with two or more.” In the past, these patients would not be able to rely on home care, since their “conditions often require care from multiple specialists and ongoing management, which has traditionally meant frequent doctor visits, hospital stays, or long-term institutional care.” In order to provide the home-based health services seniors are seeking today, home health providers are increasing the complexity of the care they can offer.
The high price of care: Healthcare costs increase interest in home care
Rising healthcare costs—fueled by inflation, public health challenges, expensive pharmaceuticals, and growing mental health expenditures—are driving payors, employers, and providers to implement more targeted cost-containment strategies, including a shift to home-based care.
According to Definitive Healthcare, “individual medical costs reach[ed] their highest level in 13 years in 2025, and with year-over-year medical cost trends for groups and individuals remaining at 8.5% and 7.5% respectively (the same growth rates held since 2024), we’ll likely see a new high in 2026.” In other words, the cost of healthcare in America continues to rise. Two major drivers of these costs, that are projected to continue impacting home care in the coming years, are changes in Medicaid coverage and the increasing expense of prescription drugs.
Medicaid: Legislation compounds rising healthcare costs
Legislation enacted in 2025 had a devastating effect on seniors relying on government assistance for help with healthcare costs. By reducing benefits available from Medicaid (known in Massachusetts as MassHealth) the legislation caused more seniors to seek ways to avoid reducing quality of care. The elements with the greatest impact include:
- reductions in Medicaid provider taxes
- restrictions on higher payments
- and cost-sharing requirements for adults.
According to home care software provider AxisCare, a majority of home care providers identified the reduction in Medicaid provider taxes as having the greatest effect on home care operations and restrictions on higher payments and cost-sharing as having the second and third most impact. As experts in MassHealth, Mass Care Link, we remain up-to-date on any evolving legislation and can help with paperwork, understanding benefits and accessing the financial assistance available to caregivers looking after friends or family members at home.
Prescription drugs: Rising prices reduce patient access
Already the featuring the highest prices of any developed nation, the rising cost of prescription drugs in the United States is “likely to remain one of the defining cost pressures for the U.S. healthcare system in 2026,” predicts Definitive Healthcare. One driving force of the increased overall costs are name-brand speciality drugs, such as Ozempic. “Fetching over $1,000 per month before rebates, GLP-1 drugs designed for weight loss are pushing pharmacy spend up.”
The American Hospital Association warns that almost “30% of Americans say they haven’t taken their medication as prescribed due to high drug prices, and it is estimated that more than 1.1 million Medicare patients alone could die over the next decade because they cannot afford to pay for their prescribed medications.” With crippling healthcare costs only forecast to increase, seniors unable to afford residential options are choosing at-home care.
AgeTech: Increasing aging-in-place drives tech innovation
Facing the surge in at-home care, the industry has responded with innovative technology-based solutions to increase the quality of home-based care. “The aging in place movement has given rise to the booming AgeTech market, a sector dedicated to developing tools and technologies that help older adults live independently, safely, and comfortably at home,” explains AxisCare. “According to some estimates, AgeTech is one of the fastest-growing areas in healthcare innovation, representing billions of dollars.” The categories represented by this growing trend include remote patient monitoring, telehealth visits, AI data analysis, smart home technology and even robotics.
RPM/wearables: Monitoring patients at home
One of the biggest drivers of the age-based technology market, remote patient monitoring (RPM) allows round-the-clock monitoring of patients using at-home care. “Wearables, smart watches, and connected devices can track vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels in real-time. This data can be shared instantly with healthcare providers, allowing them to catch early warning signs and adjust care plans without requiring hospital visits,” explains Definitive Healthcare. And the results are positive: “older adults who actively use RPM devices report experiencing better health outcomes while reducing the likelihood of being readmitted to a hospital.”
Telehealth: Virtual visits increase level of care
A part of mainstream healthcare since the pandemic of 2020, telehealth and virtual care platforms continue to increase access and primary care providers for patients receiving care at home. “For seniors managing multiple chronic conditions, video consultations and digital care coordination help minimize clinic visits, reducing both risk and strain,” notes Definitive Healthcare.
AI: Anticipating problems to plan preventative care
A big trend in home-based care, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already improving patient outcomes and poised to expand its effects. “AI applications focusing on caregivers…are expected to enhance the overall caregiver experience, supporting workforce stability,” asserts AxisCare. When combined with RPM, the technology is creating a shift in home-based care. “AI and predictive analytics are helping anticipate problems before they become emergencies,” explains Definitive Healthcare. “ By analyzing patterns from sensors, wearables, and electronic health records, AI can flag subtle changes that may indicate cognitive decline, depression, or early signs of disease progression. This proactive approach shifts care from reactive to preventive.”
Smart home technology: Keeping seniors safe
Even caregivers need sleep. When caring for a loved one at home, how can you keep them safe when you are unavailable? Smart home technology including sensors can help fill the gap. According to Definitive Healthcare, “Motion detectors, fall-detection devices, and voice-activated assistants are creating safer home environments. Some systems even learn an individual’s normal routines and send alerts when something seems off, such as a missed meal or unusual nighttime activity.”
Robotics: Robo-doc to the rescue
From a helping hand to a sympathetic smile, technology is helping seniors being cared for at home. “On the frontier of aging in place innovation, robotics and automation are beginning to offer practical assistance and companionship to older adults in need,” notes Definitive Healthcare. Robotics is being harnessed in home healthcare to improve quality of life for caregivers and care recipients alike. “From automated pill dispensers and cleaning robots to companions like ElliQ that provide social interaction, these machines extend independence and help alleviate some of the burdens caregivers contend with.”
Making the connection: Care providers put technology to work
But without home-based care experts like Mass Care Link, the technology would never improve the lives of patients living at home. “While technology companies are driving innovation on the product side, home-based care providers are the ones putting these tools into practice and making aging in place a sustainable reality,” insists Definitive Healthcare. “Across the country, agencies are rethinking their models of care to better meet the needs of a rapidly aging population…to make aging in place more accessible in 2026 and beyond.” Dedicated to innovation, Mass Care Link is always exploring new technologies to help make life easier for caregivers and more comfortable for those in their care, for example, caregivers can benefit from our simplified communications systems and services that fit seamlessly with your life online.
Customizable Care: Hospital-level care at home
These technological advances contribute to the emergence of customized home care. As noted by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, the “growing trend within this transformation is the shift toward delivering increasingly complex care – including care that traditionally required an inpatient admission – in home settings.” This enhanced continuity of care involves “Integrating a patient’s health management into a single, coordinated plan promotes continuity.”
According to the Centers of Disease Control, these “Care plans include critical information about the person receiving care, such as their health condition(s), treatment(s), care needs, and provider contacts,” helping “caregivers organize and prioritize caregiving needs.” A cornerstone of Mass Care Link’s individualized homecare strategy, Personalized Care Plans (PCPs), “can help caregivers better manage their caregiving responsibilities, alongside their own personal lives,” noted the Centers of Disease Control.
As Massachusetts’ home care experts, for more than a decade Mass Care Link has helped older adults receive care from a friend or loved one in the comfort of their home. Learn more about the at-home care option of Adult Foster Care, or contact us today to see if the program is right for you.