Medicare's At Home Care

At home care can be extremely expensive, and sometimes even unaffordable for many people in retirement or living on a fixed income. Luckily, Original Medicare beneficiaries have benefits that cover portions of at home care.

Medicare Part A covers hospital insurance, while Medicare Part B covers medical insurance. Both of these parts of Medicare will cover services so long as the individual is "homebound". This term can be defined by the following criteria designated by Medicare:

• Their condition means that they are recommended to stay at home.
• They are normally unable to leave their home because of how much effort it takes to do so.
• The beneficiary has difficulty leaving the house without assistance from a walker, cane, a home health aid, ect.

Typically, a home healthcare service will coordinate the at home care as recommended by the doctor. The agency that will coordinate benefits is to be certified by Medicare and the covered services are as follows:

• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Part-time skilled nursing as medically necessary 
• Speech language pathology
• Medical supplies for at home use
• Durable medical equipment

Medicare does not cover all at home needs however. It is important to note these few uncovered items that many individuals may need:

• 24 hour care at the home
• Meal deliveries
• Homemaker services not related to the care plan
• Personal care for daily living activities that are unrelated to medical care