What is the difference between Home Health and Private Duty care?

Home Health services are “intermittent” visits to a patient’s home from a highly skilled  and specifically educated clinician who provides nursing or therapy services, typically one to three times per week for a 60-day episode under a specific plan of care that is overseen by the patient’s Primary Care Physician (PCP). Home Health is typically covered 100% by Medicare.

Private Duty services provide patient home visits by non-medical care by un-skilled aides who do light house-keeping, meal preparation and companion services. Some Private Duty providers may also provide private, skilled clinical care. Care is usually provided in blocks of time and paid directly by the patient or family members.

How much does Home Health care cost?

If the patient is Medicare insured then Home Health services are reimbursed 100% by Medicare with no deductibles and no lifetime maximums. If the patient has commercial health insurance then Home Health

services are reimbursed per the patient’s selected health plan. Some types of plans include Medicare  Replacement plans, HMOs and PPOs. Each plan has it’s own reimbursement guidelines.

All patients with commercial insurance plans must receive pre-authorization prior to receiving services. To find out of National Home Care takes your commercial insurance contact us (make contact us a link). If the patient has neither Medicare nor Commercial Health Insurance than services may still be provided on a Private Pay basis. For an estimate of costs contact us.

What are the primary reasons for Home Health services?
Home Health services are often prescribed by a patient’s Primary Care Physician (PCP) who needs additional clinical support at home. Many times patients have had a recent hospital stay where a condition was stabilized and now they are being discharged to their home where additional skilled services can be provided.

Common patient issues that may require home health include: Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Pneumonia, Stroke, Hip Replacement, Knee Replacement, General Muscle Weakness, Infusion Therapy and many other therapies and treatments as deemed necessary by a patient’s PCP and best delivered at a patient’s home.

Will retirement homes become obsolete as more seniors stay home?

By Andrew Moran

Feb 19, 2013 - yesterday in Lifestyle

Torrance - Due to the baby boom population of the 1940s and 1950s, the American public is aging. Over the next four decades, a significant number of the baby boom generation will reach the age of 65 and will become close to a quarter of the United States population.

With advances to medical care, health technology and methods to treat illnesses and diseases, everyone is living longer. It is usually surmised, however, that seniors will have to transition to a retirement residence. No longer is this the trend due to the marketplace of home care providers in the nation.

Product Helps Home Health Care Professionals Comply with Federal Regulations

Two Northwest Georgia home health care therapists teamed with Chattanooga technology company Blacksnow Media to develop an application and website to help professionals in their industry comply more easily with Medicare guidelines, prevent money loss and more efficiently keep up with scheduling details.

“One of the Medicare guidelines that came out the year before last really changed how we were delivering therapy,” home health care therapist Stacie Eady said. “It required reassessments to be done at certain intervals.”

New tech tools aim to bring health care home

Julie Kientz is studying the use of technology to improve lifestyles. Specifically, she’s looking at ways of tracking life benchmarks to make it easier to live healthier. 

Home Health Care

What is Home Health Care?

Home health care helps seniors live independently for as long as possible, given the limits of their medical condition. It covers a wide range of services and can often delay the need for long-term nursing home care.

More specifically, home health care may include occupational and physical therapy, speech therapy, and even skilled nursing. It may involve helping the elderly with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and eating. Or it may include assistance with cooking, cleaning, other housekeeping jobs, and monitoring one’s daily regimen of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

5 Essential Winter Safety Tips for Seniors

October 18, 2010 | Posted by: Carol Marak | Posted in: Health & Nutrition for Indianapolis Seniors,Indianapolis Elder Home Care | Tagged: Winter Safety tips —

5 Essential Winter Safety Tips for Seniors


The winter months present a unique set of challenges for seniors, and they need to take added precautions in order to provide for their health and safety during a season that brings cooler temperatures, and the joy of the holiday season.

MAY ~ National Stroke Awareness Month

National Stroke Association's Faces of Stroke public awareness campaign aims to change the public perceptions of stroke through education and personal stories of those impacted by the fourth leading cause of death.In May, during National Stroke Awareness Month, four campaign ambassadors will begin educating the communities they live in about important life-saving stroke information through activities, events and media outreach. Join this campaign by submitting a story, browsing the gallery, sharing stories via social media, taking theFive Faces Pledge and more.

Introducing the New Faces of Stroke Blog
*Stay up to date on all of the latestFaces of Stroke happenings through a new campaign blog. Visit regularly for updates on campaign happenings and how the new Ambassadors are progressing in their efforts to raise community awareness.*
» Read more