Caring for aging loved ones often poses unique ─ and sometimes surprising ─ challenges. Whether managing a chronic health condition or post-surgery care, many people recoil at the thought of a long hospital stay. Fortunately, home health care allows many seniors to receive the medical care and support they need in their own home instead of a hospital or nursing home.
Home health care is a cost-effective, personalized care solution that provides medically-necessary care to seniors in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes. Read on to learn how home health care could benefit you and your loved one, how home health differs from other types of home care, what your payment options are, and more.
What is home health care?
Home health care refers to medical services prescribed by a doctor and provided by licensed professionals, such as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) in a person’s choice of residence. Home health services are similar to those offered in a hospital or nursing facility, but are typically more affordable and convenient. The ultimate goal of home health care is to manage chronic health conditions or to assist in recovery from illness, injury, or surgery.
How does it differ from home care?
While home health care involves medical or skilled nursing care, the general term “home care” typically refers to nonmedical care, such as companionship, assistance with activities of daily living, and homemaker services. Understanding the difference between home care and home health care is critical in finding the care type that best suits a loved one's needs.
What services does home health care provide?
Home health care provides skilled medical services intended to treat various conditions and can be personalized to fit an individual’s specific needs. Home health care services can include the following:
- Doctor care, including in-home visits to diagnose and treat illnesses or review the patient’s needs and care plan
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapies
- Nursing care, such as wound dressing, medication administration, and pain or symptom control
- Certain lab tests, such as blood and urine testing
- Specialized care for those with chronic conditions, such as dementia, Parkinson’s, or multiple sclerosis
- Social services, such as counseling or locating community resources
- Transportation to and from medical appointments
- Dietary and nutritional guidance to support the patient’s care plan
- Medication management
- Some nonmedical home care services, such as personal care, companionship, and light housekeeping assistance
What are the benefits of home health care?
In-home health care can provide the support your loved one may need after a surgery, illness, or hospital stay, but the advantages don’t stop there. The many benefits of home health care include the following:
- Enhances quality of life. Home health care offers companionship, the opportunity to engage in a variety of activities, and more ease for family and friends to visit compared to staying in a hospital or facility.
- Tailored and person-centered care. Home health care is designed for the needs of seniors and can be customized to suit the needs and goals of any individual.
- Supports autonomy. While your loved one receives the care they need in their own home, they can age in place with their sense of dignity and independence intact.
- Convenience and affordability. In-home care is typically less expensive than a hospital stay or relocation to a nursing home or assisted living community.
- Helps prevent hospital readmissions. Home health caregivers monitor their clients throughout the course of the care plan, ensuring there are no major changes to important vitals and that medications are being taken properly.
- Reprieve for family caregivers. For those who have been caring for an aging loved one on their own, home health care can take much of the stress and responsibility off their plate.
However, there are pros and cons to every care decision. Because home health care is provided in a patient’s home, the right equipment may not be in place or easily set up, and the home environment can be unpredictable with people coming and going for visits. Families should talk with their loved one’s doctor and home health care provider regularly to help ensure a smooth process.
How does home health care work?
Home health care is typically provided over the short term. Virtually anyone with the medical need for it can benefit from home health care. Perhaps your loved one is a senior who needs more supervision and specialized care than you can provide on your own. Or maybe they’ve just undergone surgery and need postoperative treatment. Whatever your case may be, the main requirement of home health care is that there must be a prescription from a doctor in order to receive home health services.
Work with your loved one, their physician, and their chosen care provider to set up an appropriate plan of care, including the type and level of care to be provided, times of visits, and the duration of care. The care provider may also act as a liaison between the client and their physician or health care team.
Costs of home health care for seniors
The exact cost of home health care will vary depending on your loved one’s condition, extent and duration of care, specific location, and insurance coverage.
Because home health care is provided by licensed medical practitioners, it costs more than nonmedical home care, which ranges between $26 and $27 per hour, according to the most recent Genworth Cost of Care Survey. However, home health care is much more affordable than a private room in a nursing home, which can cost nearly $9,034 per month.
How to pay for home health care
Most insurance policies will typically cover at least a portion of home health care services, although many people do pay using personal funds. Traditional health insurance policies won’t pay for nonmedical home care, but most cover at least some home health services. Check with your loved one’s health insurance provider to determine what specifically their plan will cover. Other ways of paying for home health care are listed below.
- Out-of-pocket personal funds, such as private savings, investments, and life insurance policies are very common payment methods.
- A reverse mortgage loan allows the borrower to use the proceeds at their own discretion. Many people put this money toward medical expenses and in-home care costs. However, using your home to provide cash for long-term care can be risky.
- Veterans health benefits, if applicable, help cover the cost of some in-home care services.
- Long-term care insurance can be purchased from private companies and used to cover the cost of nursing care, assisted living, and home health care. However, insurance coverage must be purchased prior to needing care.
- Medicare covers home health services, including skilled nursing services and skilled therapy services, as long as the individual meets certain eligibility criteria.
- Medicaid may cover home health care depending on where the senior lives and if they meet certain eligibility requirements. However, not all home health providers accept Medicaid. Check the Medicaid information page for your loved one's home state to find agencies in their area.
- PACE, or Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, is a Medicare and Medicaid program that allows qualifying seniors to remain in their own community rather than moving to a nursing home.
Read: How to Pay for Home Care
What other types of home care are there?
Nonmedical and medical in-home care are the two overarching categories of in-home care. There are varying types of care within those categories, including the following:
- Companion care provides nonmedical care, including opportunities for socialization, emotional support, and assistance with instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), such as household chores and planning social activities.
- Personal care may overlap with the nonmedical provisions of companion care. However, personal care also involves assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as grooming, bathing, eating, and using the toilet.
- Respite care offers family caregivers temporary relief from the responsibilities pertaining to their aging loved one.
- Private duty home care can offer both companion and personal care. However, this care is paid for using personal funds or long-term care insurance.
- Private duty nursing (PDN) is similar to home health care regarding its services but is generally more individualized and continuous. Also, like private duty home care, it’s most often paid for with personal funds.
- End-of-life care, or hospice care, can be provided in the home to help support terminally ill individuals.
How can families find home health care?
If you believe your loved one could benefit from home health care, have a conversation with their doctor to discuss the possibility. Once your loved one obtains a doctor’s prescription for home health care, you will need to find them a local care provider. Their doctor may recommend an agency, or you can search home health services near you on Medicare’s website.
What if I’m unable to find a home health care provider?
In the case that home health care isn’t the right option for your loved one’s situation, nonmedical in-home care can still offer a range of invaluable services, and it doesn’t require a doctor’s prescription. AgingCare’s Care Advisors can offer guidance on finding the right home care for your loved one, and the service is provided at no cost to you.
Reviewed by Todd Austin, President and COO of Home Care Pulse.
Sources:
Types of Home Health Care Services (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/caregiving/types-of-home-health-care-services)
Cost of Care Survey (https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html)
Can You Afford a Home-Care Worker? (https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/info-2017/afford-a-homecare-worker.html)
Home health services (https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/home-health-services)
Medicaid and Home Health Care & Non-Medical, In-Home Care (https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/in-home-care/)
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/long-term-services-supports/program-all-inclusive-care-elderly/index.html)