Home Health Care
Also called: home health, skilled home care, medicare home health
Short-term, doctor-ordered medical care delivered at home by licensed clinicians — often Medicare-covered after a hospital stay.
Home health care is skilled, intermittent medical care prescribed by a physician and delivered at home by licensed clinicians: registered nurses (RNs), physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and medical social workers. It is a clinical service governed by a physician's plan of care, billed to Medicare or another insurer, and intentionally short.
Common home health services include post-surgical wound care, IV therapy and infusion management, pain management after a hospital stay, gait training and balance work after a fall, swallowing therapy after a stroke, ostomy and catheter teaching, disease education for a new diagnosis (CHF, COPD, diabetes), and medication reconciliation. Most episodes run 30–60 days; the goal is to stabilize the patient and graduate them off skilled services.
Medicare Part A and Part B cover home health care when the patient is "homebound" (leaving home requires considerable effort) and needs intermittent skilled care. There is no copay for the covered services themselves, though related durable medical equipment may carry the standard 20% coinsurance. Coverage is verified by the home health agency, not the patient — most families discover home health is on the table when a hospital case manager mentions it during discharge planning.
A home health aide (HHA) employed by a Medicare-certified home health agency may visit briefly during this episode — usually 60–90 minutes a few times a week to help with bathing while the patient is recovering. Those HHA visits are tied to the skilled episode and end when the episode closes. They are not a substitute for ongoing daily home care.
The most common point of confusion: families assume that because Medicare paid for an aide for two weeks after the hospital stay, it will keep paying for help with bathing and meals indefinitely. It will not. When the home health episode closes, families who still need daily support transition to non-medical home care — paid for privately, through long-term care insurance, VA Aid & Attendance, or the MI Choice Medicaid waiver. The most successful transitions are the ones planned during week three of the home health episode, not after the last nurse visit.
In Southeast Michigan, home health is delivered by Medicare-certified agencies (Henry Ford Home Health Care, Beaumont Home Care, ProMedica, and others). Affordable Home Care does not provide home health — we provide the longer-term, non-medical support that picks up where home health leaves off, often coordinating directly with the discharging home health agency to keep the care plan continuous.
Frequently Asked
How long does Medicare pay for home health care?
Medicare home health is structured in 60-day episodes. As long as the patient remains homebound and needs intermittent skilled care, episodes can be recertified. Most patients receive 1–2 episodes (30–60 days each) before graduating off skilled services.
What is the difference between home health and home care?
Home health is short-term, doctor-ordered medical care delivered by licensed clinicians and covered by Medicare. Home care is longer-term, non-medical support (bathing, meals, companionship, transportation) delivered by trained aides and paid for privately. They often work together: home health stabilizes a patient after a hospital stay, then home care picks up for the long haul.
Do I need a doctor's order for home health?
Yes. A physician must certify that you are homebound and need intermittent skilled care, and must sign off on the plan of care. The order is usually placed by the hospital discharge team or your primary care physician.
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