Home Health Services

        Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and/or   Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) 

 cover eligible home health services like these:

• Part-time or "intermittent" skilled nursing care
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech-language pathology services
• Medical social services
• Part-time or intermittent home health aide care (only if you’re also getting other skilled services like nursing and/or therapy at the same time)
• Injectable osteoporosis drugs for women
• Durable medical equipment
• Medical supplies for use at home

Usually, a home health care agency coordinates the services your  doctor orders for you. The home health agency caring for you must be  Medicare-certified.

Medicare doesn't pay for:

• 24-hour-a-day care at your home
• Meals delivered to your home
• Homemaker services (like shopping, cleaning, and laundry) that aren’t related to your care plan
• Custodial or personal care that helps you with daily living activities (like bathing, dressing, or using the bathroom), when this is the only care you need

All people with Part A and/or Part B who meet all of these conditions are covered:

• You must be under the care of a doctor, and you must be getting  services under a plan of care created and reviewed regularly by a  doctor.
• You must need, and a doctor must certify that you need, one or more of these:
  • Intermittent skilled nursing care (other than drawing blood).
  • Physical therapy, speech-language pathology, or continued  occupational therapy services. These services are covered only when the  services are specific, safe and an effective treatment for your  condition. The amount, frequency and time period of the services needs  to be reasonable, and they need to be complex or only qualified  therapists can do them safely and effectively. To be eligible, either:  1) your condition must be expected to improve in a reasonable and  generally predictable period of time, or 2) you need a skilled therapist  to safely and effectively make a maintenance program for your  condition, or 3) you need a skilled therapist to safely and effectively  do maintenance therapy for your condition.
• You must be homebound, and a doctor must certify that you're homebound.

You're not eligible for the home health benefit if you need more than 

part-time or "intermittent" skilled nursing care.  You may leave home for medical treatment or short, infrequent absences  for non-medical reasons, like attending religious services. You can  still get home health care if you attend adult day care.

• $0 for covered home health care services.
• After you meet the Part B deductible, 20% of the   Medicare-Approved Amount   for Medicare-covered medical equipment.

Before you start getting your home health care, the home health  agency should tell you how much Medicare will pay. The agency should  also tell you if any items or services they give you aren't covered by  Medicare, and how much you'll have to pay for them. This should be  explained by both talking with you and in writing. The home health  agency should give you a notice called the Advance Beneficiary Notice"  (ABN) before giving you services and supplies that Medicare doesn't  cover.