Medicare Coverage Information
Medicare pays for the following if all conditions for eligibility are met:
- Skilled nursing services on an intermittent or part-time basis: This is limited to nursing care that can only be provided safely and effectively by a licensed nurse.
- Home health aide services: These services include assistance with personal care such as bathing, dressing and other activities of daily living.
- Physical therapy as long as it is medically reasonable and necessary: This includes exercise to restore and maintain movement and strength to an injured arm or leg and training in getting into and out of a wheelchair or bathtub.
- Speech therapy as long as it is medically reasonable and necessary: This type of therapy includes exercises to restore speech.
- Occupational therapy as long as it is medically reasonable necessary: This type of therapy provides assistance aimed at helping you achieve independence in daily living by teaching new techniques for eating, dressing, as well as other routine tasks.
- Medical social services: This includes a service that evaluates the emotional and social factors related to your illness, provides counseling based on this assessment, and searches for available resources within the community.
- Medical supplies
- Certain medical equipment: This includes items such as wheelchairs, walkers, and oxygen equipment. Depending on your plan, Medicare may pay a percentage of the approved amount, and you are responsible for the remainder.
Medicare does not cover the following types of services and supplies:
- In-home non-medical services such as shopping, house chores, and cooking. Home health aides may perform some light household chores only when they are providing covered services.
- Personal care provided by home health aides, such as bathing, toileting, or dressing, unless you are receiving skilled nursing care or therapy and the personal care is related to the treatment of your illness or injury
- 24-hour in-home care
- Meals delivered to the home
