Home health agencies are medical providers that have registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and in some cases, physicians whom come out to a patient's home to provide medical care. Home health care is ideal for patients who recently have had surgery, are terminally ill, non-ambulatory, in wound care and may have difficulty getting to a medical office or hospital. In an ideal setting, this team works alongside the patient's existing doctors as well as hospitals, rehabilitation centers, assisted living and more to ensure that proper care and continuity with patients is upheld.
How Do Home Health Agencies Work
Home Health agencies are structured to make it easy for the patient. If the patient was hospitalized, the hospital will provide her a list of local agencies that the patient can call to set up an appointment to have a clinician come to her home for the first evaluation, usually within a few days if not sooner. The home health agency will also verify insurance, find out any insurance restrictions and relay the information to the patient.
Upon the initial visit, the home health agent will conduct an assessment (vitals, medical history, wound evaluation, etc.) of the patient's condition. In some cases, the clinician will conduct whatever treatment the patient requires. At the end of that first visit, the clinician will provide the patient with dates he will return to continue care. The number of visits allowed are dependent upon the patient's insurance.
What Do Home Health Agencies Do?
Home health agencies are organizations that handle all aspects of providing home health care to patients. They assign patients, handle customer service and deal directly with patients. They hire as well as contract nurses and sometimes doctors to to patients' homes to do treatment. This traveling team of nurses is briefed on each patient. Most services are covered by the patient's insurance. Oxygen, respiratory equipment and wound care bandages are typically included.
Eligibility
Those eligible to receive home health care are the privately insured and Medicare/Medicaid insured. Most insurance companies, however, restrict the number of visits allowed. Although not all home health agencies work with Medicare and Medicaid, most do. Oftentimes, patients can run out of allotted visits and must find alternative methods to obtain whatever treatment the home health agency was conducting or continue to pay for services out of pocket. Reform within the area of home health is a controversy right now as the government continues to cut funds to Medicare (National Association for Home Health and Hospice) and home health agencies.
The Controversy
According to the article, "Congress Must Recognize as Cost Effective Part of Health Care Reform," providing the equipment and service of home oxygen costs less than $7 per day under Medicare, compared to $200 in a nursing home and an average stay in the hospital of $2,000. Conversely, many of those who oppose home health feel that patients receive better, more monitored care from in-house treatments/procedures. They also feel that some of the licensed practical nurses within home health agencies lack the medical training necessary to treat patients properly. Others have also stated that some home health agencies have fraudulently billed them and conducted less than savory business practices.
An Overview
No matter your view, home health agencies are a personal choice that the patient or her family must make on their own. Some may feel they would benefit from home health, others not. If the patient is non-ambulatory, there are several car services paid for by Medicare/Medicaid and other insurance companies that will pick up the patient and take him to a medical office free of charge.
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