Home Care
What is it and How do you access it?Home Care offers a broad range of health care and supportive services to people in their homes. Home Care can provide any or all of the following services:
- Professional Nursing (RNs & LPNs)
- Certified Home Health Aides (trained for medical & personal care)
- Therapy: physical, occupational & speech-language
- Medical social services and counseling
- Homemaker & Companion services (non-medical, no personal care)
- Infusion therapy and specialized high-technology services
- Laboratory and diagnostic services
- Case management services
- Nutritional support therapies and counseling
- Behavioral and mental health counseling & support services
- Preventive health & wellness programs, such as child health, maternal health, diabetes health programs
- Hospice and bereavement services
- Telehealth services - help monitor & maintain people with acute and chronic illnesses
Note: Not every agency provides all of the above services. Ask about the services you or your loved one are interested in when you contact the licensed agency of your choice.
Why is home care so important?- Meets the care needs of people of all ages and provides assistance & support to their families/caregivers
- Services are offered in the security & comfort of one’s own home
- Provides dignity and encourages independence
- Enables families to remain together
- Care is personalized and tailored to the needs of each patient and home situation
- Provides professionally-supervised services that are monitored and regulated to assure quality and adherence to state and national standards
- Allows for flexibility of scheduling care 24 hours a day, seven days a week
- Available in every community throughout New Jersey
- Provides a cost-effective alternative to institutional long term care and acute care
- Offers innovative community-based preventive health and wellness programs
- Medicare *
- Medicaid *
- Health and Long Term Care Insurance Plans *
- Managed Care Plans *
- Individual patients and families
- State programs such as CCPED, PCA, JACC and CAP*
- Other third party payors*
- If under a doctor’s care, ask to be referred to a Home Care agency
- Call a Home Care agency in your community and ask for assistance. The agency can help you contact your doctor if medical orders are required for your care.
- If you are in a hospital or awaiting discharge from a nursing home or skilled nursing facility, talk with the Discharge Planner/Case Manager (may be a Social Worker or Nurse) at the facility and ask for assistance with referral to a Home Care agency in your community.
- Ask your Insurance Case Manager to refer you for Home Care
There are three types of licensed agencies in NJ:
- Home Health Agencies – Licensed by the Department of Health & Senior Services.
- Health Care Service Firms - Licensed by the Division of Consumer Affairs
- Hospices - Licensed by the Department of Health & Senior Services.
Licensed Agencies:
- Are regulated and monitored by the state
- Provide a professional assessment of care needs
- Provide professional supervision to assure that you receive the care you need, and to make adjustments in your care as your needs require
- Have the ability to provide back-up in the event a staff member is unavailable
- Manage taxes and other employer withholding responsibilities
- Have insurance to cover injury or loss
- Are the only home care providers that can provide care under most insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid
Other Quality Controls that an agency may have:
- Accreditation – JCAHO, CHAP, CAHC, NAHC
- Medicare-certification (a must if your care is covered by Medicare)
- Medicaid Approval (a must if you are eligible for coverage by NJ Medicaid)
Questions To Ask When Seeking Home Care Services:
- Is the agency licensed as a home health agency, hospice or health care service firm?
- Is the agency accredited?
- Are the individuals sent to your home employees of the agency?
- What are the agency’s charges and financial procedures?
- Don’t be afraid to call a few agencies to “comparison shop”
- Does the agency accept your insurance?
- Does the agency have a brochure or other information they can send to you for review?
- Is help available from the agency to evaluate your care needs and customize a plan of care for you or your loved one?
- If you become unhappy with any services, how does the agency respond to your concerns?
- Is there back up in the event of a call out?
- Does the agency carry insurance to cover their staff?