Serious Illness & Facility Care
Does Medicare Cover Home Health Care?
Yes, with conditions. Medicare covers part-time skilled care at home — nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy — when a doctor certifies you're homebound and need it, through a Medicare-certified agency. It does not cover 24-hour care or purely custodial help.
What Original Medicare covers
When you qualify, Medicare covers part-time or intermittent skilled care in your own home: skilled nursing, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, continued occupational therapy, medical social services, and — only while you're also receiving skilled care — home health aide help with personal care like bathing and dressing. Covered medical supplies come with it, and durable medical equipment such as walkers or hospital beds can be covered too.
The conditions — all of them must be met
- A doctor or authorized practitioner certifies you need intermittent skilled care, following a face-to-face visit.
- You're certified as homebound: leaving home takes considerable effort or help. You can still count as homebound if you get out for medical appointments, religious services, adult day care, or an occasional short outing.
- The care comes from a Medicare-certified home health agency under a written plan of care your doctor reviews.
"Intermittent" has a real meaning: generally fewer than 8 hours a day and 28 or fewer hours a week of combined nursing and aide services, with limited room for more over shorter stretches.
What it does not cover
Around-the-clock care at home, meal delivery, homemaker services like shopping and cleaning, and custodial care — help with daily living — when that's the only care you need. This is the line that catches the most families: when the skilled need ends, the aide visits end with it, even though the daily-living need remains.
What it costs
You pay nothing for covered home health visits themselves. Durable medical equipment is separate: 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the $283 annual Part B deductible. Before the agency provides anything Medicare won't cover, it must tell you in writing. Medicare Advantage plans cover home health as well, though they may require network agencies or prior authorization.
Who to ask
Talk to your doctor — or the hospital discharge planner — about whether you meet the homebound and skilled-care requirements; the certification starts there. Talk to a licensed advisor if you're planning for care Medicare doesn't cover, like long-term custodial help, so that gap doesn't arrive as a surprise.