What Is Home Health Care?

Home health care includes a wide range of health care services that can be given in your home for an illness or injury. Recovering from a surgery, hospitalization, unexpected injury, or illness can last anywhere from several weeks to several months. Being able to stay in your home to receive care provides emotional support and may help you recover sooner. Home Health Care is usually less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective as care you get in a hospital or skilled nursing facility (SNF).

In general, the goal of home health care is to treat an illness or injury in your home rather than in a hospital or convalescent facility. Home Health Care may be used to help you recover, regain your independence, become more self-sufficient or simply help you maintain your current condition or level of function.

What Types Of Services Are Provided?

To qualify for benefits, a License Healthcare Practitioner must certify that you have a cognitive impairment or inability to perform two of six Daily Living Activities without substantial assistance. These activities are: bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring (getting in and out of bed or chair), eating, and personal hygiene.

Once qualified, you can expect your Home Health Care plan to provide specified benefits which will usually include (but are not limited to):

• Skilled Nursing Care
• General Nursing Care
• Physical Therapy
• Speech Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Respirational Therapy
• Home Health Aide
• Medical Social Services

In addition, many plans provide some reimbursement for prescription drugs and options to add coverage for benefits like ambulance services.

Plans may also include a restoration of benefits feature. This means that you can get all benefits restored in your plan after using them if:

• Covered home healthcare services have not been received for a period of one-hundred eighty (180) consecutive days and
• A Licensed Healthcare Practitioner has certified that you have sufficiently recovered to no longer require home healthcare or nursing care services.

How Do I Pay For These Benefits?

If you are on Medicare, it will cover some home health care if you are homebound and it has been prescribed that care by a medical professional. Care services can include general personal care, however, home health aides may only be used on a part-time basis for no more than eight hours a day and a total of 28 hours per week. Seniors on a Medicare Advantage plan should check their benefits for Home Health Care as they may vary by plan.

One of the best ways to ensure that you have protection against Home health Care expenses is to add a supplemental policy that covers those benefits. Savers Health represents several top carriers that offer plans to cover expenses related to Home Health Care and Short-Term Care.

These plans are very affordable and offer different options packages to fit almost every need and budget.