A young, stay-at-home mother needs assistance and training in learning how to administer parenteral nutrition to her chronically ill baby.
A young child, recuperating at home after a serious illness, needs physical therapy.
A teenager, with a terminal illness, is too sick to travel to his doctor to receive pain medication.
An elderly woman, living alone on a farm, needs assistance with her household tasks as well as a friendly face to talk to.
Home health care is for people of all ages, in cities and rural areas. Home health services range from helping the smallest baby to helping the elderly who choose to live independently in their own home. Most people want to recover and rehabilitate from an illness or injury at home, where they have both comfort and security.
Home health care is an essential part of health care today. It encompasses a wide range of health and social services that may not easily or effectively be provided solely by family and friends. Services range from highly skilled and technical nursing care to assistance with the essential activities of daily living. These services are delivered at home to recovering, disabled, chronically, or terminally ill persons in need of medical, nursing, social, or therapeutic treatment.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Tools
Assisted Senior Living
Web site
Helps seniors and caregivers locate adequate care and senior living facilities. Site includes options to search by state and type of facility.
CMS Home Health Agency (HHA) Center
Web site
Provides information on the Home Health Prospective Payment, Home Health Face-to-Face Encounters, Therapy and Skilled Nursing, Billing, Enrollment, and various manuals.
Eldercare Locator
Database
Connects older Americans and their caregivers with sources of information on senior services.
Links those who need assistance with state and local area agencies on aging and community-based organizations that serve older adults and their caregivers.
Health Information Technology Toolkit for Home Health Agencies
Web site
Designed for use in implementing or overhauling a home health agency Health Information Technology (HIT) or Electronic Health Record system and to evaluate system effectiveness.
Home Health Compare
Web site
Provides information about Medicare-certified home health agencies in your area including skilled nursing care, physical and occupational therapy, and home health aide services.
MedlinePlus: Home Care Services
Web site
Links to resources related to home health, including organizations, statistics, and publications.
National Home and Hospice Care Survey
Web site
Presents results of 2007 National Home and Hospice Care Survey. Provides publications, fact sheets, methodology, and data. This will be replaced in 2012 when the National Center for Health Statistics will launch the new National Survey of Long-Term Care Providers (NSLTCP).
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
Web site
Addresses the needs of long-term care clients, providers, and payers. Features a comprehensive service delivery system and integrated Medicare and Medicaid financing. Permits loved ones to continue living at home while receiving services rather than being institutionalized.
Rural Health Research: Home health
Web site
Provides summaries of current and completed rural health research projects and related publications addressing the topic of home health, produced by the Office of Rural Health Policy's funded rural health research centers.
Funding
Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa (hawk-i)
A program that provides health care coverage for Iowa children, under the age of 19, in families with limited incomes.
Inactive Funding
Inactive Funding Opportunities -
Lists additional funding programs for this topic that are not currently accepting applications. Programs that are inactive may be offered again in the future.
Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents
2010 Report to the Secretary: Rural Health and Human Service Issues
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
Report to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on issues related to rural America. Topics for this year include: home and community based care for rural seniors, rural primary care workforce, and rural health care provider integration.
Date: 05 / 2010
Around the Country: Program Helps Frail Rural Elderly Live at Home
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Highlights the Rural PACE grant program and how it is helping providers meet the needs of seniors who want to live at home.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor Issue Fall
Date: 08 / 2008
Basic Statistics About Home Care
Sponsoring organization: National Association for Home Care and Hospice
Provides information on home health agencies, including Medicare certified agencies and hospices, Non-Medicare certified agencies, home care expenditures, and statistics and data.
Date: 2010
Code of Federal Regulations - Title 42, Parts 409, 418, 424, 484, and 489, Medicare Program: Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update for Calendar Year 2011; Changes in Certification Requirements for Home Health Agencies and Hospices Final Rule
Sponsoring organization: National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Revises the home health agency (HHA) capitalization requirements. Sets forth an update to the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) rates, including: the national standardized 60-day episode rates, the national per-visit rates, the non-routine medical supply (NRS) conversion factors, and the low utilization payment amount (LUPA) add-on payment amounts, under the Medicare prospective payment system for HHAs effective January 1, 2011.
Date: 11 / 2010
Code of Federal Regulations: 42 CFR 484 Conditions of Participation: Home Health Agencies
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Government Printing Office
Updated November 2011. Presents details and requirements for condition of participation for Home Health Agencies.
Date: 11 / 2011
Code of Federal Regulations: 42 CFR Parts 409, 424, and 484 Medicare Program Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update for Calendar Year 2012, Final Rule
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Sets forth updates to the home health prospective payment system (HH PPS) rates, including the standardized 60 day episode rates, the national per visit rates, and the low utilization payment amount (LUPA) under the Medicare PPS for home health agencies effective January 1, 2012.
Date: 2011
Comparison of Home Health and Hospice Care Agencies by Organizational Characteristics and Services Provided: United States, 2007
Author(s): Eunice Y. Park-Lee, Frederic H. Decker
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Presents national estimates of the organizational characteristics of home health and hospice care agencies in 2007.
Journal citation: NACCHO Exchange
Date: 11 / 2010
Expanding Rural Elder Care Options: Models That Work
Author(s): Peter Fitzgerald, Andy Coburn, Sharon K. Dwyer
Sponsoring organization: National PACE Association
Proceedings from the 2008 Rural Long Term Care Access and Options Workshop, which discussed model options for home, community, and facility-based care by care coordination systems that enhance autonomy and quality of life for rural elders.
Date: 06 / 2009
Forgotten Population
Author(s): Zak Stambor
Sponsoring organization: American Psychological Association
Describes the use of telehealth and home-based health-care interventions to address a mental health crisis among elderly Americans in rural areas.
Journal citation: APA Monitor on Psychology Volume 37 Issue 10 Pages: 52-53
Date: 11 / 2006
Home Health and Hospice Care Agencies: 2007 National Home and Hospice Care Survey Fact Sheet
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
Provides selected data highlights from the 2007 National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS), one in a continuing series of nationally representative sample surveys of U.S. home health and hospice care agencies.
Date: 2007
Home Health Care During an Influenza Pandemic: Issues and Resources
Author(s): Ann Knebel, Sally J. Phillips
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Provides information and resources to aid in and improve influenza pandemic planning and preparedness. Discusses challenges in recruitment and retention, health care workforce, and community planning.
Date: 07 / 2008
Home Health Face-to-Face Encounter: A New Home Health Certification Requirement
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Discusses the home health certification requirement, effective January 1, 2011, which requires a physician to have a face-to-face encounter with any patient who is eligible for the home health benefit.
Date: 12 / 2010
Home Health Payment Reform: Trends in the Supply of Rural Agencies and Availability of Home-Based Skilled Services
Author(s): Janet P. Sutton
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Finds that closures of rural agencies may have a greater impact on access since many rural communities are experiencing critical shortages of providers.
Date: 03 / 2005
Home Health Prospective Payment System: Payment System Fact Sheet Series
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Provides education on the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) including background information and consolidated billing requirements, coverage of HH services, elements of the HH PPS, and additional requirements.
Date: 02 / 2012
Home Health Services Taking Hold in Rural Areas
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Describes how the growth of home health services and related technological advances help people live in their rural homes.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor Volume 2009 Issue Winter
Date: 02 / 2009
Home Health Study Report: Literature Review
Author(s): Judy Goldberg Dey, Margaret Johnson, William Pajerowski, Myra Tanamor, Alyson Ward
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Presents a literature search which was used as a background to aid the development of a study and report on potential revisions to the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS). Report includes rural and underserved populations.
Date: 01 / 2011
Medicare & You: 2012
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Highlights what's new, what's covered, health plans, prescription drug plans, and consumer rights.
Date: 12 / 2011
Medicare and Home Health Care
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Explains how to find home health agencies, the Medicare Home Health Benefit, what Medicare covers, and where to get help with questions.
Date: 05 / 2010
Medicare Benefit Policy Manual: Chapter 7 - Home Health Services
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Discusses the Home Health Prospective Payment System (PPS), requirements for home health coverage, services provided, physician certificates, supplies, and duration.
Date: 04 / 2011
Medicare Home Health Care in Rural America
Author(s): Sheila J. Franco
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Describes the results of a study evaluating the degree to which Medicare beneficiaries received home health care from agencies outside of their county and the extent to which urban agencies served rural beneficiaries.
Date: 01 / 2004
Medicare Payment Basics: Home Health Care Services Payment System
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
Presents an overview of Medicare payments for home health care services. Includes information on setting Medicare payment rates.
Date: 10 / 2011
Overview of Home Health Aides: United States, 2007
Author(s): Anita Bercovitz, Abigail Moss, Manisha Sengupta, Eunice Y. Park-Lee, Adrienne Jones, Lauren D. Harris-Kojetin
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Presents national estimates of home health aides providing assistance in activities of daily living and employed by agencies providing home health and hospice care in 2007. Data are presented on demographics, training, work environment, pay and benefits, use of public benefits, and injuries.
Date: 05 / 2011
Performance of Rural and Urban Home Health Agencies in Improving Patient Outcomes: Final Report
Author(s): Janet P. Sutton
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Describes the results of a study to determine whether rural and urban home care agencies differ in terms of patient care outcomes, and to ascertain whether there are agency characteristics that are associated with better or worse outcomes.
Date: 05 / 2006
Physician's Guide to Medicare's Home Health Certification, Including the Face-to-Face Encounter
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Provides education on the contents of the home health certification, including homebound criteria and requirements for the face-to-face encounter and documentation needed. Includes guidance that physicians, non-physician practitioners, physician support personnel, and home health agencies can use to ensure that all certification requirements are understood and met.
Date: 05 / 2012
Redesign and Operation of the National Home and Hospice Care Survey, 2007
Author(s): Dwyer LL, Harris-Kojetin LD, Branden L, Shimizu IM
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
Provides an overview of the redesigned National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS) conducted in 2007. Provides descriptive information on home health and hospice agencies, their staffs, their services, and their patients.
Date: 07 / 2010
Role of Human Factors in Home Health Care: Workshop Summary
Author(s): Steve Olson
Sponsoring organization: Institute of Medicine
Presents a multidisciplinary study that examines behavioral and human factors issues resulting from the increasing migration of medical devices, technologies, and care practices into the home.
Date: 2010
Rural Home Health Care Agencies Stretched to Provide Services
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Addresses challenges many rural home health care agencies face in providing services. Identified challenges include high fuel costs, long travel distances in rural areas, and inadequate reimbursements from Medicare. Presents solutions to these challenges such as fundraising and telemedicine.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor Volume 2009 Issue Winter
Date: 02 / 2009
Story of David Olds and the Nurse Home Visiting Program
Author(s): Andy Goodman
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Discusses the Olds Model, a nurse home-visitation model developed in the 1970's, which has bloomed into the Nurse-Family Partnership, a
nonprofit organization serving more than 20,000 mothers in 20 states. This project was designed to help low-income, first-time mothers take better care of themselves and their babies.
Date: 07 / 2006
Utilization of Home Health Services Among Rural Medicare Beneficiaries Before and After the PPS: Final Report
Author(s): Janet P. Sutton
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Describes the results of a study on the rural effects of the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS), including whether the PPS contributed to changes in the demographic and clinical characteristics of home care users; the likelihood of using each of six home care disciplines; and the intensity of services.
Date: 08 / 2005
Organizations
American Association for HomeCare
National organization
Serves the medical needs of millions of Americans who require oxygen equipment and therapy, mobility assistive technologies, medical supplies, inhalation drug therapy, home infusion, and other home medical equipment, therapies, services, and supplies in the home.
Collaboration for Homecare Advances in Management and Practice (CHAMP) (CHAMP)
National organization
National initiative to advance home care excellence for older people so that their chronic conditions may be better managed.
Home Care Technology Association of America (HCTAA)
National organization
Advocates to help increase the access to and use of technology in home and health care settings. Part of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice.
Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA)
National organization
Works to bring meals to seniors in need including men and women who are elderly, homebound, disabled, frail, or at risk. Supports the Rural Initiative, a model for the rural Senior Nutrition Program.
National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC)
National organization
Represents the interests and concerns of home care agencies, hospices, and home care aide organizations. Provides listing of state associations.
National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA)
National organization
Supports and educates those who care for a chronically ill, aged, or disabled loved one.
National Private Duty Association (NPDA)
National organization
Supplies information for providers of private duty home care, which includes non-medical home care services. Works to add strength and professionalism of private duty home care providers through education and best practices.
Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA)
National organization
Serves as the official national association for not-for-profit, community based home health organizations. Created the profession of home health care more than 100 years ago. Works to bring compassionate, high-quality and cost-effective home care to individuals in their respective communities.
Terms & Acronyms
Approved Amount The fee Medicare sets as reasonable for a covered medical service. It may be less than the actual amount charged. Approved amount is sometimes called "approved charge."
Community-Based Services Services, such as meals on wheels and adult day care, designed to help people remain independent and in their own homes.
Durable Medical Equipment Medical equipment that is ordered by a doctor for use in the home. These items must be reusable, such as walkers, wheelchairs, or hospital beds.
Formal Care Care which is provided by a home health aide or homemaker arranged or supervised by a home care agency, or provided by a nurse or therapist.
Home Health Agency An organization that provides homecare services, including skilled nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and care by home health aides.
Home Health Aides Individuals who provide care to older adults or people with disabilities at home such as assistance with activities of daily living, managing medications, and some household tasks.
Home Health Care Skilled nursing care and certain other health care that you get in your home for the treatment of an illness or injury.
Homebound Those who are unable to leave home. A person may leave home for medical treatment or short, infrequent absences for nonmedical reasons.
Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance Program) Hospital insurance that helps pay for inpatient hospital care, limited skilled nursing care, hospice care, and some home health care. Most people get Medicare Part A automatically when they turn 65.
Medicare Part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Program) Medical insurance that helps pay for doctors' services, outpatient hospital care, and some other medical services that Part A does not cover (like some home health care). Part B helps pay for these covered services and supplies when they are medically necessary. A monthly premium must be paid to receive Part B.
Out-of-Pocket Costs Health care costs that you must pay on your own because they are not covered by Medicare.
Plan Of Care A plan written by your doctor that describes what kind of services and care you must receive for your health problem.
Provider A doctor, hospital, health care professional, or health care facility.
Regional Home Health Intermediaries A private company that contracts with Medicare to process claims and make checks of home health care.
Skilled Nursing Care A level of care that must be given or supervised by licensed nurses and is under the general direction of a doctor. All of your needs are taken care of with this type of service, including giving direct services.
|
