Home Health

Definition. Medicare's home health benefit: part-time or intermittent skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, continued occupational therapy, medical social services and part-time home health aide care, given at home by a Medicare-certified agency.

What it means

To qualify for Medicare home health:

• You must be homebound: leaving home takes a considerable and taxing effort.
• A doctor or other allowed practitioner must see you, order the care and review your plan of care.
• You need part-time or intermittent skilled care, not 24-hour care.
• The agency must be Medicare-certified.

Medicare doesn't pay for 24-hour care at home, meals delivered to your home, homemaker services, or personal care such as bathing and dressing when that is the only care you need. Medicare Advantage plans must cover home health too, but may require prior authorization and use of network agencies.

In Oregon

For long-term help at home that Medicare doesn't cover, Oregon has two paths through the Oregon Department of Human Services' Aging and Disability Services: Medicaid in-home services for people who qualify financially, and Oregon Project Independence, which offers in-home services on a sliding fee scale to people 60 and older, or of any age with Alzheimer's or a related disorder, who aren't on Medicaid. You can reach ODHS aging and disability resources at 1-855-673-2372.