Home Health Services Covered by Medicare
May 25, 2017
Reviewed and Updated by Anastasia Iliou,
If you’ve been following our blog, you know that Original Medicare encompasses Part A, hospital care, and Part B, doctor care. Thankfully, hospital and doctor care covered under Original Medicare is not limited to in-office care. Most of your home care needs will also be covered by your Original Medicare.
Do You Need Home Health Care?
Home health care is usually equally as effective as the care you would receive in a hospital or facility. If you have an injury or illness that prevents you from leaving your house, you’ll want to consider home health care.
Home health care is not limited to treatments and doctor visits. It can also mean care education for you and/or your caregiver. You may have a relative or friend taking care of you who needs help to give you the best care possible.
However comfortable it may be to have a friend take care of you, if you need injections or close monitoring, it may be in your best interest to hire a professional to check in on you at your home. A home nurse or doctor will also communicate with your other doctors and health care professionals to keep everyone on the same page and keep all documentation updated. It’s all in the interest of promoting good health for you.
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Home Health Services Covered By Medicare
To be eligible, you must have Medicare Part A and Part B, and a doctor must certify that you need the service that you are requesting coverage for and that you are homebound. With your Part A, you will pay $0 for home services and 20% of the Medicare price for any required medical equipment.
Included:
- Skilled nursing care
- Physical therapy
- Speech-language pathology
- Occupational therapy
Not Included:
- 24-hour home care
- Delivered meals
- Homemaker or personal services
You will stop receiving coverage for your home care if your treatment is no longer medically necessary or if you are no longer homebound.
Choosing Your Home Care
Your doctor will probably recommend a home health care service to you if he doesn’t provide those services himself. Otherwise, Medicare has a Home Health Agency finder so you can locate the care you need in your area. When choosing an agency for yourself or for a loved one, make sure you’re asking the right questions, such as:
- Are you Medicare (or Medicaid) certified?
- Do you offer ____ service?
- What are your hours and do they align with my needs?
- Will you have emergency staff available on weekends and after hours?
- Do you perform background checks on staff? Do you have credentials?
- Will I have to pay anything out of pocket?
Once you’ve narrowed your choices down, you may want to inquire about an agency’s quality of care. Any home care agency who services Medicare clients and has serviced at least 20 patients will have a star rating. Patient Care Star Ratings are based on patient health improvement and the outcome of home treatments and care.
If you have more questions about your home care costs or are considering adding coverage, like a Medicare Supplement plan to help with costs, speak to one of our agents today. Call 1-844-431-1832.
