{"id":3187,"date":"2022-05-02T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/designtheme1.wpengine.com\/?p=3187"},"modified":"2022-05-02T08:00:39","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T12:00:39","slug":"home-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/bostonnw\/massachusetts\/blog\/home-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Difference Between Home Care and Home Health Care?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:0px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p><em><strong>Although they<\/strong> <strong>share some similarities, home care and home health care are also quite different. For example, Medicare provides coverage for many home health care <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicare.gov\/what-medicare-covers\/whats-home-health-care\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">services<\/a>, but not for home care. Whether you\u2019re an elderly care recipient or a concerned family member, knowing how to tell the difference between home care and home health care will no doubt matter when important decisions weigh in the balance. What follows is some information that can help guide your decision-making process.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>What is Senior Home Care?<\/h2>\n<p>Home care services are designed to help age-in-place seniors with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/stories\/15077\/activities-of-daily-living\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">activities of daily living<\/a> (ADLs) that they can no longer do on their own. The level of in-home care that\u2019s provided by professional aides varies depending on the situation and ranges from grocery shopping or transportation assistance to bathing and incontinence care.<\/p>\n<p>And although <a href=\"https:\/\/explorehealthcareers.org\/career\/allied-health-professions\/home-care-assistant-aide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">home care aides<\/a> are trained to understand most aspects of senior care, they are usually not licensed to perform medical services.<\/p>\n<p>Examples of senior home care include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Companionship<\/li>\n<li>Light housekeeping<\/li>\n<li>Transportation<\/li>\n<li>Food shopping, meal preparation, and meal deliveries<\/li>\n<li>Bathing, dressing, and grooming<\/li>\n<li>Toileting and incontinence care<\/li>\n<li>Bill paying or financial management assistance<\/li>\n<li>Medication reminders<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Who Might Benefit from Home Care?<\/h2>\n<p>In general, otherwise, active older adults who might benefit from home care services include those who:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Need transportation to and from activities and medical appointments<\/li>\n<li>Need help with cleaning, cooking, and other household responsibilities<\/li>\n<li>Feel lonely and isolated in situations when companionship might be beneficial<\/li>\n<li>Need assistance with personal care<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is Home Health Care?<\/h2>\n<p>It is clinical, medical supervision that\u2019s provided by a licensed healthcare professional like a nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or social worker. Home health care services are usually delivered through home health agencies or, in rarer instances, by hospice agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Oftentimes referred to as \u201cskilled\u201d care, and may include these services:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wound care and dressing changes<\/li>\n<li>Physical and occupational therapy<\/li>\n<li>Administration of prescription medications or shots<\/li>\n<li>Medical testing<\/li>\n<li>Monitoring of the recipient\u2019s health status<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>When Might Home Health Care Be Ordered?<\/h2>\n<p>Home health care is usually ordered by a doctor as part of an overall health care program following a hospital stay or serious injury.<\/p>\n<p>Elderly individuals who might benefit from home health care include those who:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have recently been discharged from the hospital, a skilled nursing facility, or a rehabilitation center<\/li>\n<li>Need monitoring after a recent medication change<\/li>\n<li>Are in fragile health that prevents them from safely traveling to and from appointments<\/li>\n<li>Are experiencing an overall decline in function and who might benefit from therapy to regain their independence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Who Pays for Senior In-Home Care?<\/h2>\n<p>Home health care falls under the medical services umbrella, while home care does not, so insurance providers tend to cover each type differently. Here are some general insurance guidelines to help you during the planning process:<\/p>\n<h3>Medicare and private insurance<\/h3>\n<p>These plans cover home health services when prescribed by a doctor. Home health care coverage is available to any senior who qualifies for Medicare insurance.<\/p>\n<h3>Medicaid<\/h3>\n<p>This covers both types of in-home care for income-qualified seniors, although coverage amounts vary by state.<\/p>\n<h3>Long-term care (LTC) insurance<\/h3>\n<p>If you have an LTC insurance policy it may provide at least some coverage for home care services.<\/p>\n<h3>Using a Holistic Caregiving Approach<\/h3>\n<p>Some families find that combining both types of in-home services is the best way to maintain\u00a0their aging loved one\u2019s quality of life- for example after a lengthy hospital stay. Under this holistic caregiving approach, healthcare professionals provide essential medical care, while home care aides assist with ADLs- combining their efforts to ensure that the senior\u2019s physical, mental and emotional needs are being met.<\/p>\n<h2>Meeting All the Care Needs of Families We Serve<\/h2>\n<p>At Caring At Home, we provide reliable home care services for aging-in-place seniors, backed by a compassionate approach that\u2019s designed to maintain both qualities of life and peace of mind. As a fully licensed and insured home care agency, our carefully screened aides perform duties ranging from personal care, companionship, and light housework, to transportation, meals, and medication reminders.<\/p>\n<p>We also accept most insurance plans, including Medicare, Medicaid, and LTC insurance. To learn more about Caring At Home now, or to schedule a FREE in-home assessment for a senior in our service area, please visit us today at: <a href=\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/massachusetts\/bostonnw\/\">assistinghands.com\/68\/massachusetts\/bostonnw<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you\u2019re an elderly care recipient or a concerned family member, knowing how to tell the difference between home care and home health care will no doubt matter when important decisions weigh in the balance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":3222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[237,233],"tags":[450,707,394],"class_list":["post-3187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aging-in-place-as-a-family","category-senior-care-advice","tag-home-care","tag-home-health-care","tag-senior-home-care"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}