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Is Home Health Right for Me?

You’ve heard this before: “My friend was very healthy for a man in his 70s until he fell and broke his hip and needed to go through rehabilitation.” Or maybe, “My sister has chronic lung problems, so she needs supplemental oxygen.”

Almost all major health issues used to require care in a hospital or nursing home. However, with the growth of home health care, many of those same health concerns can be treated in the comfortable and familiar surroundings of your own home.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Most people, if given the choice, prefer to receive health care at home over a hospital or nursing home. However, you need to ask yourself these questions:

• What are my medical and personal care needs?
• Is the medical technology I require available and safe for home use?
• Is the physical layout of my home practical? Is the bathroom on a different floor from the bedroom? What small changes can I make to my home to make it more suitable?
• Are medical services nearby in case of emergencies?
• Who else lives in my home, and what degree of support can they provide? How would this affect them? Will I have enough privacy to allow me to rest or heal comfortably?
• What will the cost be compared to a hospital or nursing home? Who will pay for it?

These questions are all important factors in determining whether home health care is right for you. Depending on your level of need and the services you require, home health care may be an excellent choice for aging or healing in place.

Paying for Home Health Care

If you’ve decided that home health care is right for you, and have talked to your doctor or discharge manager, your next question is probably something along the lines of “How do I pay for this?”

Home health care can be paid for in several ways.

• Private health insurance, long-term care insurance, and Medigap policies may cover some if not all of your home care costs.
• Medicare may pay for home health care if you meet a certain level of need: you’re physically confined to your home, require nursing care, but not enough nursing care to warrant treatment or care at a facility. Talk with a Medicare advisor to determine whether or not you qualify.
• Medicaid programs, depending on the state, may pay for home health if you meet the requirements. You can contact your state medical assistance office to determine your eligibility.

It’s nice to stay at home if you can. Home health services are becoming more sophisticated all the time, and they provide an increasingly important alternative to hospital or nursing home care. At LifeSource Home Health, we work with your physician to ensure you are getting the treatment you need to recover from or manage an illness, surgery, or medical condition.

LifeSource Home Health offers both skilled nursing services and rehabilitative services. From wound care to speech therapy, our knowledgeable and caring staff work around your schedule, so you can remain as independent as possible. Plus, recovering at home instead of in a hospital or medical facility means reduced risk of infection, complications, and readmission. Our goal is to create an environment where our patients can continue living a fulfilling and purposeful life in the midst of medical challenges.