As part of a project supported by the Ossen Family Foundation, Center for Medicare Advocacy staff recently called the 16 home health agencies that, according to Medicare’s Home Health Compare tool, serve the two counties near our CT office. Home health agencies were asked about their ability to provide care to a beneficiary with a chronic condition (either ALS, MS, or Parkinson’s disease) who had a doctor’s order for physical therapy once a week, skilled nursing two times a week, and a home health aide twenty hours a week. The results of the survey present concerns about available Medicare-covered home care and accurate information for beneficiaries. Results include:
- Only 2 of the 16 agencies surveyed said they could provide all the necessary care.
- 4 of the 16 agencies said they might be able to provide all the care, but would need to check the availability of home health aides, hire more aides to meet the need, and/or conduct an assessment.
- 5 of the 16 agencies said they either did not have any home health aides available for the area, or the aides would be limited to 1-3 hours per week.
- There were also multiple inaccuracies in the Home Health Compare information, including telephone numbers that were no longer in service and agencies that did not provide care in the area.