Medicare (and most private insurance companies) will approve home health care for beneficiaries who meet the following conditions:

• You must be homebound. This means that:
  • leaving home is a major effort due to your limited abilities to walk or get out of your home.
  • you normally required the assistance of others to leave your home.
  • when you do leave your home, it is to get medical care, or for short, infrequent, non-medical reasons such as getting your hair cut, attending religious services, or going to an adult day care
• Your doctor must approve that the care you need can be given at home, as well as participate in planning and supervising the care you receive.
• Your care must require at least one of the following services: skilled nursing, physical or speech therapy, or occupational therapy.