Medicare home health eligibility checker
Medicare covers some health care at home when several conditions are all met. This checker walks through the conditions medicare.gov lists and tells you which your answers appear to meet.
Your answers stay in this browser. Nothing you type is sent to Carevo.
What this tool cannot do
- Carevo cannot tell you whether Medicare will pay. Medicare and the home health agency decide, after a doctor or other health care provider assesses you.
- It checks the conditions medicare.gov lists. It does not decide what counts as skilled care, whether you are homebound, or how many visits are covered.
- Medicare does not pay for 24-hour-a-day care at home, home meal delivery, homemaker services unrelated to your care plan, or custodial or personal care when that is the only care you need.
- If you have a Medicare Advantage plan or another Medicare health plan, check with your plan about home health benefits.
- It is an estimate based on published rules, not advice.
Common questions
Does Medicare pay for a home health aide?
Only part-time or intermittent home health aide care, and only if you are also getting skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech-language pathology or occupational therapy at the same time. Medicare does not pay for 24-hour-a-day care at home, home meal delivery, homemaker services unrelated to your care plan, or custodial or personal care when this is the only care you need.
What does "homebound" mean to Medicare?
You must need part-time or intermittent skilled services and you are "homebound": leaving your home is not recommended because of your condition, or you have trouble leaving without help, and you are normally unable to leave your home and leaving takes a lot of effort. You can leave home for medical treatment or short, infrequent absences for non-medical reasons, such as attending religious services, and you can still get home health care if you attend adult day care.
What does Medicare home health cost?
You pay nothing for covered home health services. After the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for durable medical equipment. The agency should tell you before you start what Medicare will pay.
What if I have a Medicare Advantage plan?
Check with your plan for your home health benefits. Medicare Advantage plans and other Medicare health plans have their own rules for how you get the care.
Where these rules come from
Sources checked October 27, 2026.