Does Medicare Cover Home Health Aides?

Does Medicare cover home health aides?

Medicare does cover home health aide services, but never on their own. A home health aide is only covered as part of a larger home health episode that also includes skilled care. In other words, the aide who helps you bathe or dress is paid for because you are already receiving skilled nursing or therapy in your home.

If the only help you need is personal care (bathing, dressing, using the bathroom) or housekeeping, Medicare will not pay for a home health aide. This is one of the most common and disappointing surprises families run into, so it is worth understanding the rule before you count on it.

• Covered: part-time/intermittent home health aide care while you also get skilled care.
• Not covered: a home health aide when personal care is the ONLY thing you need.
• You pay $0 for the covered home health visits themselves.

Who qualifies: the eligibility rules

To get any Medicare-covered home health care — including the aide benefit — you must meet all of these conditions at the same time.

• You need part-time or intermittent SKILLED care: intermittent skilled nursing care (more than just drawing blood), and/or physical therapy, speech-language pathology, or continued occupational therapy. The aide benefit attaches to this skilled need.
• You are homebound: leaving home isn't recommended because of your condition, OR you can't leave without considerable effort and help (a cane, wheelchair, walker, crutches, special transportation, or another person). You are normally unable to leave home, and doing so takes a major effort.
• A doctor (or an allowed practitioner — a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or clinical nurse specialist) certifies that you need home health care, sets up a plan of care, and reviews it regularly.
• A required face-to-face encounter happens within the 90 days before or the 30 days after your home health care starts.
• The care comes from a Medicare-certified (Medicare-approved) home health agency.

What a home health aide does (and what Medicare won't cover)

A home health aide helps with personal care: bathing, dressing, grooming, and using the bathroom. Under Medicare, that help is only covered while you are also getting skilled care.

A homemaker is different. Homemaker services — shopping, cleaning, laundry — are not skilled or personal care. Medicare does not cover homemaker services when that is the only help you need.

• Medicare does NOT cover 24-hour-a-day care at home.
• Medicare does NOT cover meals delivered to your home.
• Medicare does NOT cover homemaker services (shopping, cleaning, laundry) when that is the only care you need.
• Medicare does NOT cover custodial or personal care (help with bathing, dressing, the bathroom) when that is the ONLY care you need — meaning no skilled care is involved.

How many hours, and what else is covered

Medicare pays for 'part-time or intermittent' care. In practice, that generally means skilled nursing and home health aide services combined add up to as much as 8 hours a day, up to 28 hours a week. More frequent care can be approved for a short time — less than 8 hours a day, up to 35 hours a week — if your provider determines it is necessary. This is why Medicare home health is not a substitute for round-the-clock or live-in care.

• Skilled nursing care.
• Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology.
• Medical social services.
• Part-time or intermittent home health aide care (alongside skilled care).
• Certain injectable osteoporosis drugs for women.
• Durable medical equipment (DME) and medical supplies for use at home.

What you pay in 2026

For all covered home health care services, you pay $0 — there is no copay or coinsurance for the home health visits themselves, including the aide visits.

The one place a cost comes in is durable medical equipment ordered as part of your home health care (for example, a walker or hospital bed). For DME, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after you meet the Part B deductible. For 2026, the Part B deductible is $283 and the coinsurance is 20%. The standard Part B premium in 2026 is $202.90 per month; note that the premium and deductible apply to DME, not to the home health visits.

• Home health visits (nursing, therapy, aide): $0.
• Durable medical equipment: 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible.
• 2026 Part B deductible: $283. 2026 Part B standard premium: $202.90/month.

Which part of Medicare pays, and how Advantage and Medicaid differ

Home health care can be covered under Medicare Part A and/or Part B. To get it through Original Medicare, you must be enrolled in Parts A and B. The home health aide benefit is not a separate paid program — it rides along inside the home health episode.

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, the plan must cover home health care, but the way it works can differ from Original Medicare — for example, you may need to use in-network agencies or get prior authorization. Coverage details vary by plan, so check your plan's Evidence of Coverage.

Medicaid is separate from Medicare. Many people who need ongoing custodial or long-term personal care at home — the kind Medicare does not cover — turn to Medicaid, which in many states pays for long-term home and community-based care. Medicaid rules and eligibility vary by state. We are an independent guide and not affiliated with the government or any Medicare plan; confirm details with Medicare.gov or your plan.