Who is eligible for Medicare home health care services?
• A doctor must decide that the person needs medical care in the home and make a plan for home care. • The person must need at least one of the following: sporadic (and not full time) skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech language pathology services, or continue to need occupational therapy. • The person must be homebound. This means that he or she is normally unable to leave home. When the person leaves home, it must be infrequent, for a short time, or to get medical care, or to attend religious services. • The home health agency caring for the person must be approved by the Medicare program. For more information on Medicare’s home health care services, please visit Medicare’s Home Health Compare or call the Regional Home Health Intermediary at 1-800-MEDICARE. Will Medicare or Medicaid help pay for home health care? Medicare pays for very limited home healthcare services: primarily skilled care like nursing services or physical, occupational, or speech therapy. It is a requir
To get Medicare home health care, a person must meet all of the following four conditions: • A doctor must decide that the person needs medical care in the home and make a plan for home care. • The person must need at least one of the following: part-time (and not full-time) skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech language pathology services, or occupational therapy. • The person must be homebound. This means that he or she is normally unable to leave home. When the person leaves home, it must be infrequent, for a short time, or to get medical care, or to attend religious services. • The home health agency caring for the person must be approved by the Medicare program. To find out if a person is eligible for Medicare home health care services, call the Regional Home Health Intermediary at 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY/TDD 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day/7 days a week or visit the Medicare website and select “Helpful Contacts.
