Does Medicare cover home health care?
Usually yes — if you are homebound and need skilled care intermittently. It is one of the most misunderstood benefits because "home care" and "home health" sound the same and are paid for very differently.
The five conditions
Original Medicare pays for home health when all of these are true:
- A doctor certifies you need skilled care intermittently — nursing or therapy that only licensed professionals can provide.
- You are homebound: leaving home takes considerable effort or the help of another person or equipment.
- A doctor has a face-to-face encounter with you (in person or by telehealth in some cases) within the required window before the plan of care starts.
- A plan of care is established and reviewed regularly.
- The agency is Medicare-certified — every agency in this directory is.
What you pay
Original Medicare pays 100% of covered home-health services — there is no coinsurance and no deductible for the visits. Equipment such as a hospital bed or walker, if covered, carries the usual 20% coinsurance for durable medical equipment. You may owe for services that are not medically necessary or not covered.
What is not covered
Medicare does not pay for 24-hour care, custodial care (help with bathing, dressing, meals when that is the main need), or homemaker services. Those are private-pay, long-term-care-insurance or, in some cases, Medicaid waiver services. If the need is mostly companionship or supervision, Medicare home health is not the right benefit.
Medicare Advantage
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, home health is a covered benefit, but the plan may have its own network of agencies and prior-authorisation rules. Ask the plan which agencies are in-network before choosing one.
How to start
You do not have to be discharged from a hospital to use home health, although it is common then. Ask your doctor for a home-health referral and an order, choose a Medicare-certified agency (check its CMS rating and services in this directory), and ask the agency to confirm in writing what Medicare will cover before care starts.
{faq([ ("Is home health care covered by Medicare?", "Yes, when you are homebound and a doctor certifies you need skilled, intermittent care, and " "the agency is Medicare-certified. Original Medicare pays 100% of covered visits."), ("What does homebound mean for Medicare?", "Leaving home requires considerable effort or the help of another person or equipment. Short, " "occasional absences (medical appointments, religious services) can still qualify."), ("Does Medicare pay for 24-hour home care?", "No. Medicare home health is intermittent skilled care. Around-the-clock or custodial care is " "not covered."), ])}Written and maintained by the US Home Health data team · last reviewed 2026-10-24 · sources and methodology.