Home Care - Medical

Medical home care provides a higher level of care than non-medical home care. Many of us would call this “nursing” care. Medical home care agencies can provide different types of care givers, such as home health aides or nursing assistants, as well as in-home nurses. Often the agencies will use a combination of these levels of care to meet the needs of a patient while keeping costs down. In-home medical care includes an impressive array of nursing cares: administering medications, treatments, I.V.'s and injections, changing wound or surgical dressings, maintaining and changing catheters, blood draws, enteral care, wound care, pre- and post-operative care, care of terminally ill patients, arranging for medical equipment and oxygen for home use, patient and family education and coordinating care with the patient’s physicians, as well as simpler tasks, such as assisting with personal hygiene (bathing, using the toilet and managing incontinence), changing colostomy bags and checking vital signs. In-home medical care can provide many of the same nursing services offered by hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, but all done in the privacy of the individual’s home. Read More

PAYMENT: Often, in-home medical care is provided in a private pay arrangement, meaning that the individual, or if the individual is incapacitated, then his or her agent under a power of attorney or the guardian, or the family, agree to personally pay for the care provided. A home care agency will often ask for a retainer payment when first beginning services (often an estimated payment of the first week’s charges) and will then bill the patient or family weekly thereafter.

Medicare has some very limited provisions that cover specific home nursing services and these cover very specific time periods. Ask the doctor ordering services, and the agency you will use, if they expect the requested services to be covered by Medicare. When Medicare pays for a service, the patient’s Medicare supplement policy (if he or she has one) may pay for any balances remaining after Medicaid pays for covered services.

If the individual qualifies, medically and financially, for a Medicaid waiver program (a program designed to keep older individuals out of nursing homes by providing alternative services), there may be some limited coverage for in-home medical services. Please ask the case worker what services might be paid by Medicaid and ask the home care agency if they can accept Medicaid payments (many agencies cannot).

Long-term care insurance policies that specifically state that they cover home care may pay for in-home medical care, to the benefit limits contracted for in the policy. If the individual has a long-term care insurance policy (this is different from Medicare or a Medicare supplement policy), read the policy and any riders carefully to see what services are covered, and for what amounts. If you have trouble interpreting the policy (and most of us do), contact the agent who sold the policy, or the insurance company directly, for clarification. An elder law attorney may also be able to help you interpret the policy. Not all long-term care policies include coverage for in-home care, but many of the newer policies do.

If the individual is covered by health insurance other than Medicare or Medicaid, contact the insurer to see what may be covered.

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Agape Home Healthcare: 3030 Towne Centre Dr
Mesquite, TX 75150
Phone: (972)681-2447
Amedisys of Arlington: 2201 N Collins
Arlington, TX 76011
Phone: (817)275-3303
Amedisys of Cleburne: 170 S Nolan
Cleburne, TX 76033
Phone: (817)202-3960
Amedisys of Dallas: 10670 N Central Expwy
Dallas, TX 75231
Phone: (214)750-5616
Amedisys of Denton: 3304 Colorado Blvd
Denton, TX 76210
Phone: (940)243-3500
Amedisys of Fort Worth: 2501 Parkview Dr
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Phone: (817)335-1777
Amedisys of McKinney: 1515 Heritage Dr
McKinney, TX 75069
Phone: (972)984-1477
Amedisys of Rockwall: 2504 Ridge Rd
Rockwall, TX 75087
Phone: (972)722-3880
Christian Care Home Health: 1000 Wiggins Pkwy
Mesquite, TX 75150
Phone: (972)613-7945
Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc: 12800 Hillcrest Dr
Dallas, TX 75230
Phone: (972)661-8003
NurseCore of Arlington: 2201 Brookhollow Plaza Dr
Arlington, TX 76006
Phone: (817)795-0567
Nurses Today, Inc: 1600 Viceroy Dr
Dallas, TX 75235
Phone: (972)233-9966
Pinnacle Home Health: 1001 Cross Timbers Road, Suite 2270
Flower Mound, TX 75028
Phone: (972)691-3131
September Services: 5925 Forest Ln
Dallas, TX 75230
Phone: (972)934-3588
Sovereign Home Health Services, Inc: 8610 Greenville Ave
Dallas, TX 75243
Phone: (214)503-7700
Total Patient Care: 202 W Main St
Allen, TX 75013
Phone: (214)547-7496
Visiting Nurse Association of Texas: 1440 W Mockingbird Ln
Dallas, TX 75247
Phone: (214)689-0055