Medicare home health coverage offers the promise of allowing eligible individuals (legally homebound and in need of skilled care), to remain at home with the care they need. According to Medicare law, regulations, and policy, home health coverage turns on the need for skilled personnel to provide or supervise nursing or therapy to be safe and effective. Skilled services to maintain function or slow decline can be covered; eligible individuals can receive up to 28-35 hours combined of home health aide and nursing.
Medicare home health coverage is not limited by law to just a few hours of care per week for just 30-60 days, nor does eligibility turn on the individual’s ability to improve. Yet this is what beneficiaries and their families are told all the time. See, Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 7 §§ 40.1.1 and 40.2.1, and review our Home Health Quick Guide.