Medicare’s home health benefit covers skilled nursing care and home health aide A home health aide provides personal care services for a patient at home, including help with bathing, toileting, and dressing. Medicare pays in full for an aide if you require skilled care (skilled nursing or therapy services) and meet other requirements. Medicare will not pay for an aide if you only require personal care and do not need skilled care. services provided up to seven days per week for no more than eight hours per day and 28 hours per week. If you need additional care, Medicare Medicare is the federal government health insurance program that provides health care coverage if you are 65 or older, are under 65 and receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for 24 months, begin receiving SSDI due to ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) no matter your age. You can receive health coverage directly through the federal government (see Original Medicare) or through a private company (see Medicare Advantage). provides up to 35 hours per week on a case-by-case basis.
You can continue to receive home health care for as long as you qualify. However, your plan of care A plan of care is a doctor’s written plan describing the type and frequency of health services a particular patient needs. must be recertified every 60 days by your doctor. Your doctor may make changes to the hours you are receiving or other services, depending on whether the level of care you are receiving is still reasonable and necessary.