What is the Medicare criteria for home care?
In order to receive home care services under Medicare, the patient must require skilled, intermittent nursing care, physical therapy, or speech therapy, have a physician’s order for home care, and be essentially homebound. Medicare considers a person to be homebound if leaving the home would require a considerable and taxing effort and if he has a condition due to an illness or injury which restricts his ability to leave his home except with the aid of devices such as crutches, canes, wheelchairs, walkers, special transportation, or assistance of another person. Homebound patients may leave their home if absences from the home are infrequent or for periods of relatively short duration…or for the purpose of receiving medical treatment.
