5 Tips for Getting Home Health Care
By: Donna Jo
Home health care is healthcare that’s provided at home after someone has suffered an injury or been diagnosed with an illness that requires intermittent treatment. Home health care is used because it is often less expensive than in-patient care at a hospital and much more convenient for the patient receiving care to receive that care at home. Proven as effective as the care in-patients receive in a hospital setting, home health care matches or exceeds the level of care that patients can expect to receive in a skilled nursing facility.
Know What Conditions Qualify
Sudden injuries like slip-and-fall accidents or unexpected health challenges, such as congestive heart failure, could qualify you for home health care. If you’ve recently received a burn or severe cuts, then you might also qualify for home health care because part of home health care is treating pressure sores and surgical wounds. Patients who need intravenous therapy and regular injections may also qualify for home health care since treatment is relatively easy to administer and safe to administer in the home. Those who need serious illnesses monitored or have an unstable health status that requires part-time monitoring may also qualify for home health care.
Know Who Could Qualify
Even if you have a few of the above conditions, you need to check off a few boxes for Medicare and Medicaid in order to actually receive home health care. As a start, you must be considered homebound per the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid definition of homebound. Aside from being homebound, you must also require skilled care on an occasional or part-time basis in order to see your illness or injury improve. Simply maintaining your current level of health may be enough for some severely ill patients. Lastly, in order to receive home health care you must correspond with your doctor about the possibility of home health care at least three months before home health care treatment begins and receive home health care from a Medicare-approved home health agency.
Be Enrolled in Medicare Already
Already being enrolled in Medicare means that you shouldn’t have to make any additional payments to receive home health care. There are exceptions – for example, you may have to pay 20 percent of the cost of durable medical equipment, if your illness or injury requires that a healthcare professional come to your home and administer treatment using durable medical equipment. The wonderful thing about home health care is that the home health care agency must transparently inform you of all of the costs associated with home health care treatments before beginning any home health care treatment regimen. For more peace of mind during home health care treatments, consider a cool smart security system for your home.
Contact Medicaid for Home Health Care Services
Medicaid benefits are largely handled and distributed on a statewide, and state-by-state, basis. Programs like chore assistance and adult day care may well be offered in your state through Medicaid. Vouchers may allow low-income households to qualify for home health care through the state’s Medicaid program. The National Council on Aging’s online benefits lookup tool is a wonderful resource for seniors to take advantage of. Here is a similar link for Medicaid Home & Community Based Services.
Seek Out Intermittent Care
Home health care potentially covers the following kinds of therapies and treatments: physical therapy, occupational therapy, medical social services, speech-language pathology services, part-time skilled nursing care, and intermittent home health aide services. You’ll notice that around-the-clock services, home meals, and custodial care are excluded from home health care. If you’re homebound and need intermittent care, though, you may qualify.
