What sorts of people require home care assistance?

If you aren’t sure about who needs a home health aide we encourage you to read this article. When you are done you will be able to determine of a HHA is the right solution for you or a loved one. When someone is home bound, it means that they lack the normal ability to leave their homes, or that, if they can, it is a significant and tiring effort to get out.

So Who needs a home health aide?
Since leaving the home is infrequent at best in these situations, homebound patients have trouble getting out for errands, appointments and medical visits. These trips are also often short lasting no more than a few hours and only a few times a week. People who are home bound generally have illnesses or injuries which restrict their ability to leave the home without help. A rule of thumb is that someone who can drive is not home bound. Similarly, patients who are able to leave the home for substantial periods of time to do things like visit friends or go on shopping trips are also not home bound. When someone is able to leave the home like this, Medicare will expect that medical care is provided in an outpatient setting and not in the home.

For people who are home bound, help is often needed. A common form of help available to those home bound comes in the form of home health aides. HHA’s are most often hired via state certified Home Health Aide Agencies are already vetted by Medicare/Medicaid. Since there is help available for home bound patients, we need to ask ourselves who needs a home health aide?


Who Needs A Home Health Aide
First off, home health care is available to people of all ages. Patients suffering from acute and/or chronic disabilities are eligible for home health aide services. In the most general sense, Home Health care is for people requiring support and assistance in their own home environments. This can include any of the following: The elderly, those suffering from chronic diseases, those suffering from injury and anyone else similarly unable to handle the daily health and medical tasks required in their lives.

Are there medical requirements to determine who needs a home health aide?
In any of these cases, a medical diagnosis and order from a qualified physician may be required to qualify for care. When seeking care, the payer of the services will likely determine what level of coverage is offered and who qualifies so this is something to take up with your private insurer or Medicare/Medicaid office. We recommend that anyone whom feels that they can no longer handle the rigors of day to day activity or daily support of a loved one investigate the options provided by home health aide services. We hope you now have a better idea about who needs a home health aide today.