News From Katten & Benson

Medical home health is a benefit that is fully covered by Medicare. Many people believe that medical home health will provide unlimited care at home, but unfortunately, this is not the case.
In order to qualify for medical home health, you must first be "homebound". Medicare defines this as requiring significant effort to leave your home. You can still be considered homebound if you go to church on Sunday, or if you get your hair done on a weekly basis, but someone else must do the driving.
In order to receive services you must have an order from a physician, and you must have a nursing or therapy need.
When your physician orders home health, most often the registered nurse will come see you first (sometimes a physical therapist will see you first). The nurse will do a thorough evaluation of your medical condition, your support system, and your living situation. This evaluation will determine the frequency and duration of the services you will receive. If the nurse determines that you need more services than the physician ordered, the doctor will be contacted for additional orders.
A nurse can come see you for medical needs like wound care, medication teaching, or monitoring a chronic medical condition. You can also receive physical, occupational and speech therapy in the home. In some instances you can also have a home health aide help you with your self care activities. Most home health agencies have social workers who can refer you to additional community resources.
If you think you need medical home health, don't hesitate to talk to your doctor about a referral. The choice of home health agency is yours--the patient. It is certainly true that many people are not familiar with a particular agency, but your physician or hospital discharge planner should give you a choice. If you don't think you can make a choice, there is nothing wrong with letting them make a suggestion. Always keep in mind that if you have problems with a home health agency, you can always change. You will find a tool at the Medicare website that compares home health agencies, and you may also find this information helpful when choosing an agency.