Home Health:

Home Health is skilled medical care delivered in a person’s home under Medicare Part A or Part B. It is not custodial care, not housekeeping, and not a friendly visit. It is medical treatment provided by licensed clinicians — nurses, therapists, and aides — when a patient is homebound and requires intermittent skilled care to remain safe, stable, and out of the hospital.

Home Health exists to prevent decline, manage chronic illness, and replace repeated hospitalizations. It is the modern form of the house call — a medical lifeline for people who cannot safely leave home.

Homeebound:

A person is homebound when leaving home is medically unsafe or requires considerable effort and assistance. Under Medicare, homebound does not mean a person never leaves the house — it means that leaving home is infrequent, brief, and only done when absolutely necessary.

Homebound status is based on medical reality, not personal preference: chronic illness, severe swelling, high fall risk, infection risk, mobility limits, or any condition where leaving home would endanger the patient. A homebound person depends on Home Health because the home is the only safe place where care can be delivered.

Glossary: