Now streaming on Last Visit First
What’s really shaping post-acute care
Trella Health CEO Scott Tapp and Senior Consultant of Data & Analytics Carter Bakkum join host Tom Maxwell to go through the new Market Intelligence Report live on screen. They cover shifts in Medicare Advantage, rising hospice growth, and time-to-start-of-care gaps that send patients back to the hospital. They also show the first public look at Ask Trella AI.
Watch the full episode
Tom Maxwell has spent his career building, running and investing in home health and hospice companies. Last Visit First is his show about “the people, policies, and innovations shaping home health and hospice—from the first touch to the final visit.” In this episode, Tom asks the questions operators, sales leaders and boards keep asking: Where is my market headed? Who am I losing to? How do I win?
What you’ll learn
Insights you can take to market
National MA penetration held flat at 55.4% from 2025 to 2026, breaking a decade of steady growth. In Vermont it fell almost 20 points after major payers left. Carter explains why rural markets may be the canary in the coal mine.
Admissions grew 4.1% year over year, and the growth rate has risen every year since 2021. Average length of stay is up about two days.
Nationally, home health starts an average of 3.3 days after an inpatient discharge. In some markets it’s more than six days. Scott and Tom talk about what that gap costs patients and why it’s a leading predictor of readmissions.
More than 700 hospitals now carry 30-day accountability for major surgical episodes. In Indiana, only 23.9% of joint replacement patients are sent to home health, against 38.7% nationally. That’s a clear opening for agencies ready to prove their outcomes.