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Questions and Answers about receiving senior home care
| Providence Life Services' Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of senior care can I get in my own home?
Just about any kind of care or service you need can be provided in your home. But different kinds of providers offer different types of care, and Medicare coverage varies depending on what senior care you need. Adding to the confusion is the fact that different providers call their care by different names. Listed below is a description of different types of care and the names they go by.
Home health care (also called medical care, skilled care)
Who needs it – Home health care usually involves helping seniors recover from an illness or injury. It may involve helping with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, and eating.
Who provides it – The people who provide home health care are often licensed practical nurses, therapists, or home health aides. Most work for home health agencies, hospitals, or public health departments that are licensed by the state.
Who pays for it – Home health is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most managed care or private insurances if a physician recommends it. To qualify:
- The patient must be homebound and under a doctor's care
- The patient must need skilled nursing care (or occupational, physical, or speech therapy) on at least an intermittent basis (that is, regularly but not continuously)/li>
- The services provided must be under a doctor's supervision and performed as part of a home health care plan written specifically for that patient
- The patient must be eligible for the Medicare program, and the services ordered must be "medically reasonable and necessary"
- The home health care agency providing the services must be certified by the Medicare program
Home care (also called private duty, non-medical care)
Who needs it – People who are returning home after a hospitalization, or people who want help with chores around the house, such as light housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, transportation to physician appointments, or monitoring their daily regimen of medications.
Who provides it – The aides who provide non-medical home care services are usually non-licensed. They might have experience dealing with people, but they usually do not have any kind of medical degree. Home care services can be sought through agencies, Social Services, or even hospital staff upon discharge.
Who pays for it – Fees are usually less expensive than home health care costs, but they are not covered by Medicare, so they are paid for privately.
Hospice care
Who needs it – Hospice is appropriate when there is a life expectancy of six months or less. When curative treatments are no longer working or a patient no longer desires to continue them, Hospice becomes the care of choice. Hospice is not designed to hasten death or "help" someone die, but rather to help patients live the remainder of their lives as fully as possible. Hospice care includes:
- Nursing services
- Physician participation
- Medical social services
- Counseling
- Pastoral or spiritual
- Bereavement counseling (for family up to one year after patients death)
- Dietary
- Home health aide services
- Medications
- Medical equipment
- Other medical supplies
- Laboratory and other diagnostic studies related to terminal illness
Who provides it – An interdisciplinary team of trained professionals works together to deliver Hospice services — physicians, nurses, certified aides, a chaplain, volunteers.
Who pays for it – Hospice care is covered by Medicare Part A or, in most states, Medicaid. Many managed care or private insurance plans also cover Hospice. A physician referral must be written to receive this benefit.
Why should I choose at-home care?
At-home care works well for people who are for the most part independent but may need some help, either at a specific time of the day, or with specific tasks. If you prefer the assurance of knowing that help is available at the press of a button, checking into an Assisted Living or Independent Living community might be a better option, unless you choose to hire a full-time, live-in caregiver. If you have decided to move into an Assisted Living community, and you need help while you are waiting for your home to sell, at-home services might be just what you need.
What should I look for in an at-home care provider?
An independent private duty caregiver is someone you pay directly for your caregiving needs, as opposed to paying an agency to send one of their caregiving employees. Paying an independent caregiver is usually less expensive, but the risks can be higher. Click here to download a PDF of a two-page info sheet that can help you know what to look for.
[Peg, this could link to the PAH infopack PDF we have already created. It’s not on the website anywhere yet, but the file is on the mac drive here: /Volumes/mac/ProvidenceAtHome/InfoPacks/PAHILIN/PAHILIN-09_infopack.pdf]
What kind of at-home services are offered by Providence Life Services?
Providence Life Services has a division called Providence At Home which offers the following types of care in the following locations:
