Frequently Asked Questions 

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1. What is home care? 

Home care is health care and related services provided in the home. It involves patients and their families and includes a comprehensive plan of treatment and rehabilitation made in collaboration with the patient's physician.

2. Can I receive home care where I live? 

Yes. There is a coordinated network of Home Health Agencies that service all of Vermont. Refer to the Home Health Agency Listing by Town or the Vermont Home Health Agency Map on this site.  

3. Who pays for home care? 

As long as you are receiving care from one of the not-for-profit Home Health Agencies, you can receive home care services regardless of your ability to pay. Also, many insurance companies cover home medically necessary home health services.

 

Medicare and Medicaid both pay for most of the services provided by Vermont's not-for-profit Home Care agencies. 

Private insurance companies vary tremendously in their coverage of home care services.  

If you think you need home care and are not sure if you will be covered by your insurance policy, either call your insurance company and ask, or call your local home care provider and ask them to help you answer that question.

4. How do I get home care services? 

There are many ways to obtain home health services. Federal regulations require that you must always have your doctor's referral, and these are several ways to obtain that referral: 

A. You can have your doctor call your local home care agency and give them a referral. Then the home health agency will contact you and arrange a time to come to your house to initiate care. 

B. You or a family member or a friend can contact the home health agency directly. You will speak with a nurse who will contact your doctor for a referral and then you will be contacted to arrange a time to initiate care. 

C. If you are coming out of the hospital the doctor may make a home care referral part of your discharge plan. The nurses at the hospital make the referral in this case. When you get home you will be contacted (usually the next day) to arrange a time to initiate home health services.

if you have any questions about this process please contact your local home health agency so they can help you. The phone number is in the Home Health Agency Directory portion of this site.  

What You Should Know When You Need Home Care 

When you need home care, you may want  to learn more about the services and reputation of the home care agency in your area. Below is a checklist of questions to ask the home care staff and other individuals who may know about the agency's  track record. Their insight will help assure that you or your loved one gets the best care possible.

• How long has this agency been serving the community?

• Does the agency supply literature explaining its services, eligibility requirements, fees, and funding sources? The agency should furnish you with a detailed "Patient Bill of Rights" that outlines the rights and responsibilities of the providers, patients, and caregivers alike.

• How does the agency select and train its employees? Does it protect its workers with written personnel policies, benefits packages, and malpractice insurance?

• Are nurses or therapists required to evaluate the patient's home care needs? If so, what does this entail? Do they consult the patient's physicians and family members?

• Does the agency include the patient and his or her family members in developing the plan of care? Are they involved in making care plan changes? Is the patient's course of treatment documented, detailing the specific tasks to be carried out by each professional caregiver? Does the patient and his or her family receive a copy of this plan, and do the caregivers update it as changes occur? Does this provider take time to educate family members on the care being administered to the patient?

• Does the agency assign supervisors to oversee the quality of care patients are receiving in their homes? If so, how often do these individuals make visits? Who can the patient and his or her family members call with questions or complaints? How does the agency follow up on and resolve problems?

• What are the financial procedures of this agency? Does the agency furnish written statements explaining all of the costs and payment plan options associated with home care?

• What procedures does this provider have in place to handle emergencies? Are its caregivers available 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

• How does this provider ensure patient confidentiality?

• In addition, ask the home care provider to supply you with a list of references, such as doctors, discharge planners, patients or their family members, and community leaders who are familiar with the provider's quality of service.

• Contact each reference and ask:
  
  Do you frequently refer clients to this provider?
  
  What sort of feedback have you gotten from patients receiving care from this provider, either on an informal basis or through a formal satisfaction survey?
  
  Do you know of any clients this provider has treated whose cases are similar to mine or my loved one's? If so, can you put me in touch with these individuals?

Under the unlikely event that you have a problem with your home care agency, please call the VAHHA Ombudsman line at 1-800-713-0893. Also you can call the State Home Health Hotline number 1-800-564-1612.  

Click Here for Other Consumer Help Lines

Click here for a link to Home Health Compare - the website that presents the results of several quality measurements for home care agencies across the country.

last update 12/29/04

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