New Home Health-Care Medicare Rule: See a Doctor

Some health-industry groups are concerned about a new Medicare rule. It’ll go into effect Friday unless Congress postpones it. It may affect the way your aging parents get home health-care. Then again, it may not.

The rule requires doctors not just to prescribe home health-care and approve a care plan but also to see the patient within 90 days before or 30 days after the patient begins care. Kaiser Health News reports that some organizations are complaining that the doctor visit “may be a burden for some home-bound frail seniors as well as those living in rural areas.”

Others claim the regulation isn’t strong enough, the article says. Interestingly, Tony Salters, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said:

the agency did not have any data to show what percent of Medicare patients now get home care services without having a recent visit with their doctor

You can read more about the debate in the article, “Medicare Rule Sparks Concerns About Patients’ Access to Home Health Care.” Has your aging parent had received home health-care? Did he or she see a doctor first?

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents.