"A Step Above...A Step
Beyond...Believing That Love Makes The Healing Difference."
Definition of Home Bound Status
- The patient's condition must be such that leaving the home requires an extremely taxing effort.
- In most instances a "homebound" patient's absence from home will occur for the purpose of receiving medical treatment.
- Absences are infrequent, are of relatively short duration and do not
indicate that the patient has the capacity to obtain health care
provided outside rather than inside the home.
- If patient's condition, due to an illness or injury,
restricts the patient's ability to leave home except with the aid of
supportive device: cane, wheelchair, walker, maximum assistance of
another person.
- If patient's condition is such that leaving home is medically contradicted.
- Any absence for religious services is deemed to be an absence of
infrequent or short duration, and thus does not negate homebound
status.
Reimbursement for home health services is
contingent upon the claimant being "confined to home." (5240.1) Failure
to meet these guidelines means that the individual is unable to receive
home health services under Medicare benefits.
