Medicare Supplemental Health Insurance

Will My Medicare Supplement Pay for Home Healthcare?

If you are recuperating at home from an illness, injury, or post surgery, and your physician has prescribed home healthcare, Medicare does cover some of the expenses. The key word in that previous sentence is prescribed. If you need home healthcare such as skilled nursing that is required to aid in your recovery as per you doctor, there are parameters to cover that, within limits, under original Medicare insurance. The "doctors orders" is important, if you are simply not "feeling yourself" after a medical procedure, or while ill, and choose to hire additional help on your own, Medicare will not pay for this.

Before we discuss how your Medicare Supplement can help you pay for home healthcare, let's first take a look at what Medicare will and will not cover. First up, any home healthcare agency providing your care has to be approved by your particular Medicare insurance program. In addition to that, there are limitations on payouts for home healthcare with traditional Medicare. Medicare will only pay for what it calls intermittent care - in other words, not around the clock coverage. Medicare defines intermittent care as less then 8 hours a day, and for no more than 21 days.

Also the type of home care is restricted to skilled nursing, physical/occupational therapy or speech language pathology.

In addition to these therapeutic services, Medicare home health benefits covers other necessities you may require while recuperating at home, including most medical supplies, medical equipment, and general assistance with day-to-day activities such as getting dressed, taking a bath, etc. However, there are other costs associated with home care that you will have to pay for - and indeed your Medicare Supplement may help you with some of these.

For example, Medicare will not pay for 24-hour care, will not pay for other things you might need help with while recuperating at home, such as housekeeping, meals, or grocery shopping - and while Medicare will pay for medical equipment you may need such as oxygen, it will only cover 80% of the costs for such durable medical goods, you will be required to go out of pocket for the other 20% - that is unless you have the appropriate Medicare supplement insurance.

There are many different Medicare Supplemental Plans available, not all of them offer an in-home healthcare benefit, and among those that do, the coverage varies. You can get a detailed description of which ones do, and what the coverages are, by visiting Medicare.gov, or by contacting one of our agents.