Affordable Home Care are healthcare delivered in the comfort of your own home or other place of residence for a variety of reasons. Usually, a doctor or other health care provider (like a nurse practitioner) will assess you face to face before certifying that home health services are necessary and medically appropriate for your condition. Then, a Medicare-certified home health agency must provide the services.
Before choosing a home care agency, figure out how much you can afford to pay. If you have private insurance, you may be able to use it to pay for some of the cost of home health care. If you don’t have private insurance, check to see if your loved one qualifies for Medicaid. Most states offer long-term care programs to help pay for home health care.
Affordable Home Care: Quality Support Without the High Costs
A home health agency is a company that provides in-home, skilled home health care. Its workers include certified home health aides and licensed or registered nurses. They work closely with your doctors and other caregivers to manage your health care needs at home. The agency should be licensed by your state.
The quality of your home health agency’s care is measured by star ratings that CMS posts on its Compare Home Health website. These ratings are based on OASIS assessments and Medicare claims data. To earn a star rating, an HHA must have complete episodes of care with OASIS assessments that begin or resume at the beginning and end of the episode. CMS also posts information about the number of unplanned hospital admissions and patient satisfaction.