Frequently Asked Questions
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- What is home health care?
- Home health care is a type of health service where nurses, doctors, physical therapists, etc come to the patient’s home to provide care. This is especially helpful for seniors who have limited mobility and have trouble going to the hospital for each problem.
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- Who qualifies for home health care?
- Seniors who have Medicare are eligible for home health care. The patient must also be considered “home bound”; meaning that the patient is confined to the home and leaving home would be considerably difficult. Thus seniors who consistently drive or have a job would not be qualified for home care.
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- What is the cost?
- Home health care is free for qualified seniors who have Medicare. Medicare reimburses the home health agency for all the services covered.
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- Why choose home health care?
- It is beneficial for the patient to receive preventative care so that he/she can live comfortably into old age. Instead of having to make frequent trips to the hospital or a clinic, the patient can receive quality care from the comfort of his/her home. Also, the services are free.
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- Types of Medicare covered for home health care
- Patients with Medicare Part A, B, D or M are eligible for home health care. If you have a question on whether you are eligible, call our offices with the following information: a) medicare or social security number, b) last name, c) first initial & d) date of birth. Medicare has provided us with a software that checks patient eligibility.
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- What if I have HMO, can I get home care?
- Currently we are not able to accept patients with HMO. This is because HMO’s place higher restrictions on the types of care you can get, and all of the services must be pre-authorized by them. Also, they delay payments to the home health agency – they only pay us for services provided every six months. Thus, it makes it harder for both the patient and the agency to work with HMO’s. There are bigger agencies out there that are able to accept HMO’s, but we do not at this time.
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- Will Medicare penalize me for using home health?
- No. There seems to be misinformation that if you use a home health service, then your Medicare payments will be reduced or somehow this will affect your Social Security payments. This is false information. If you are concerned, you can research www.medicare.gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or call: 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227).
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- Will I have to change my primary physician?
- No. You can keep your same physician and other services will remain intact. The Illinois Department of Public Health does require the home health agency to have a home physician visit the patient once in order to authorize our services. If your primary physician makes home visits, then he/she can visit you in your home. Otherwise, we have a network of home physicians who will make home visits to authorize home health services.
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- What types of care are available?
- We send Registered Nurses, Doctors, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Home Health Aides, Medical Social Workers , and medical labs (blood draws) to the patient’s home. If the patient qualifies, we also provide him/her with durable medical equipment covered by Medicare (canes, wheel chairs, walkers, etc).
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- Some common home health diagnosis we encounter
- These are some of the most common health issues we treat: diabetes, osteoarthritis, arthropathy, CVA, CAD, hypertension, heart disease, leg/shoulder/back pain, wound care, post-surgery care, etc. The goal is for the patient to recover and receive preventative care from the comfort of his/her home.
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- How can I get help?
- If you or your family is in need of home care; call us at (847) 490-1112 to speak with a registered nurse. We will answer any questions you may have and can set up an appointment to do an assessment.
You can also email us at admin@northshorehomehealth.com and we’ll get back to you promptly.
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- How to refer a patient for home health?
- Social service workers, doctors, clinicians and such can refer patients to us 24/7 by faxing the patient information to (847) 490-1113. Though our official business hours are Mon-Fri: 9am – 5pm; we frequently come into the office to check faxes, voicemails and emails.
- Are you hiring?
- We are always looking for qualified RN’s, LPN’s, PT’s, CNA’s and other caregivers with home health experience.
Please check out the Employment Section to see if we are currently hiring.
If you are interested, please call (847) 490-1112 or stop by our office.
