FAQ

Home Health Care

What is home health care?
Home health care is medical care provided in the home for people who are recovering from surgery, illness or who live with a chronic condition and need medical supervision to live safely and comfortably.

What services does home health care provide?
Some of the services provided by home health care professionals includes wound care, disease management, IV therapy, physical/occupational/speech therapy, medication administration, injections, and fall prevention. Learn more about Blize’s home health services.

Who is eligible to receive home health care?
To qualify for insurance coverage, including Medicare and Medicaid, patients need to meet certain eligibility requirements. These include:

  • An order from a physician. This usually includes a face-to-face meeting with a physician, who must approve treatment and a plan of care.
  • Being homebound. This basically means that leaving home is a major effort, requiring the assistance of others.
  • The need for health care. The patient must be in need of skilled nursing care and/or physical/occupational/speech therapy.

Does Medicare cover the cost of home health care?
For those who qualify, Medicare pays 100% of allowable charges from Blize Healthcare. This means qualifying patients with Medicare pay nothing out of pocket for the skilled services of Blize Healthcare. No deductible payments and no co-pays. Learn more about Medicare eligibility. Medicare does not cover nonmedical private duty care.

Hospice Care

What is hospice care?
Hospice care is for individuals who are nearing the end of life and are no longer seeking curative treatment. The focus with hospice care is providing comfort care through pain and symptom management and emotional support for both the patient and the patient’s family.

When is hospice care appropriate?
Hospice care is usually provided when the patient has a prognosis of less than six months to live. At this stage, curative treatments are no longer being explored and the patient is seeking a comfortable and meaningful transition.

When should hospice care begin?
At any time during a life-limiting illness, it’s appropriate to discuss all of the patient’s care options, including hospice. If the patient has decided to forego curative treatment and simply wants to live the rest of his/her life comfortably and as free of pain as possible, it is certainly a good time to explore the hospice option.

For whom is hospice care appropriate?
Generally speaking, hospice is appropriate for individuals who have:

  • Been diagnosed with a terminal illness, with a life expectancy of six months or less.
  • Stopped seeking curative treatment.
  • A personal physician who agrees that hospice care is appropriate and is willing to work with the hospice team to provide care.

Private Duty Care

How does home health care differ from private duty care?
Home health care is for people who need medical attention and monitoring due to a chronic condition, illness, injury, or a recent surgery. Your caregiver will be a clinician providing services similar to those you would receive in a hospital or skilled nursing facility, including wound care, medication administration, injections and IV therapy. Private duty care is nonmedical assistance and may include taking clients to medical appointments, doing the laundry or simply providing companionship.

What are some of the benefits of private duty care?
Private duty care helps individuals remain in their home and “age in place” by taking care of the routine tasks and activities of daily living that many seniors may no longer be able to perform. Learn more about the benefits of home care.

What are some of the services a private duty caregiver provides?
Private duty caregivers can help clients with dressing, bathing and grooming; planning and preparing tasty and nutritious meals; light housekeeping; laundry and ironing; transportation to medical appointments and social events; and medical reminders. You can read more about our services here.