Who Pays for Home Health Care and When?
Commercial Insurance
Many commercial or private insurance companies, such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield, EDS Federal, Aetna and others, include home health benefits as part of their health insurance policies. The number of visits, types of services and requirements for coverage vary greatly. It is therefore necessary to check each commercial insurance policy for the particular patient and situation.
In general, many commercial insurance policies require a prior hospital stay, physician’s orders and need for intermittent skilled services to cover the cost of Home Health Services. Commercial insurance companies are increasingly offering case management programs that provide a variety of community-based services, including Home Health Services, as an alternative to more expensive institutional care.
