Medicare can, in certain situations, pay for home care involving medical and specialty services. It will only cover services that are deemed medically necessary. The standard hands-off home care would not be covered by Medicare. Most home caregivers provide assistance with day-to-day tasks and activities like housekeeping, cooking, and companionship which would not be covered.

To qualify for Medicare your parent or loved one needing assistance would need to meet the following requirements:

• They are currently under the care of a doctor and getting services under a plan of care that was established and regularly reviewed by a doctor.
• They require (and a doctor must also certify that they require) one or more of the following:
  • Intermittent Skilled Nursing Care – other than drawing blood
  • Physical Therapy
  • Speech-Language Pathology Services
  • Continued Occupational Therapy
• The home health care agency you choose is approved by Medicare.
• They are homebound, and the doctor certifies they are homebound – meaning they are unable, have difficulty, or are instructed not to leave the home.
• A doctor or healthcare professional that works with a doctor has met with them face to face regarding the need for home health services.

What is Covered by Medicare

If they meed the requirements listed above, Medicare would pay for the caregiver services including:

• 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 services (personal hands-on care)

Medicare would NOT pay for caregiver services which included:

• 24-hour-a-day care at home
• Meals delivered to your home
• Homemaker services
• Custodial or personal care (like bathing, dressing, or using the bathroom), when this is the only care you need

Basically, any hands-off care would not be paid for by Medicare.

You will first want to check with your home care provider to see whether they are approved by Medicare and, if they are, what would be covered.

If you are in need of a caregiver for a parent or loved one and don’t require any of the medically necessary services listed above then Medicare would not pay for the caregiver.

Get Assistance from the Leading Home Care Providers in Wichita, KS

Are you looking for a caregiver for your loved one? Call (316) 691-5050 and talk to one of our staff at Progressive Care. We are one of Kansas’s largest home care providers and offer daily 24-hour living assistance, including nighttime watch and personal assistance.