Helping You Pay For Your Home Care

Medicare

Medicare fully covers home health care that meets the criteria for coverage. The services covered include skilled nursing, therapy, home health aide, and social work visits. The criteria for coverage includes:

• Homebound Status: The client must be confined to his or her home and leave the home only with difficulty.
• Intermittent: Services must be provided on an intermittent basis. This means that the care required can be accomplished in approximately an hour long visit by the professional. In addition, there must be a predictable end to the service required.
• Skilled Care: Medicare cover care that is considered to be skilled. Skilled care included wound care, IV therapy, and instruction regarding the illness and medications. At the time that the services are not skilled, the nurse will begin discharge plans.
• Physician Ordered: The care received must be ordered by a physician and be appropriate for the medical diagnosis.

The management team at Heritage will notify the patient at any time we believe that care does not meet Medicare criteria. Any service that is denied payment can be appealed by either Heritage or the patient.

Other Options

• Various state agencies pay for home services for qualified clients. Passport, Waiver, Medicaid, Senior Options, and In Home Services are some of these programs. Heritage provides services for these programs.
• Insurance policies often have a home health care benefit. Heritage accepts insurance cases and will provide insurance verification before care starts to protect and inform the client fully of the costs. Heritage will bill the insurance company and the client appropriately.
• Private Pay home care is chosen by many individuals. This can include whatever service the client desires. Some examples include personal care, homemaking, laundry, meal preparations, companionship, errands, assistance to the doctor's office or hospital procedures. Clients are billed directly by Heritage on a weekly basis.