Skilled nursing
Skilled nursing at home, covered by Medicare for eligible patients
Licensed nurses visit you at home — not in a facility — to treat, monitor and teach, following the plan of care your doctor approves. Care typically starts within 24–48 hours of a referral.
On each visit
What does a home health nurse do on a visit?
Every visit is different because every plan of care is different. These are the things a visiting nurse typically does.
Check how you are doing
Vital signs, symptoms, pain, and how you have been since the last visit.
Review your medications
What you take, when you take it, and anything new since your hospital stay.
Provide ordered treatments
Wound care, injections or other care your doctor ordered.
Teach and update your doctor
Show you and your family what to watch for, and report changes to your doctor.
Under Medicare
What skilled nursing at home can include
Medicare lists these as examples of skilled nursing covered by the home health benefit. Your nurse provides the care your doctor orders — call us to ask about a specific need.
- Wound care for pressure sores or surgical wounds
- Patient and caregiver education
- Intravenous (IV) or nutrition therapy
- Injections
- Monitoring a serious illness or unstable health status
With Original Medicare
$0
Your cost for covered home health services
Eligible patients pay nothing for covered home health visits. For medical equipment Medicare covers, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible.
Home vs. facility
Skilled nursing at home vs. a skilled nursing facility
“Skilled nursing” can mean two very different settings. Rinaldi provides the first one.
Skilled nursing at home — Rinaldi
A nurse comes to you
- You keep living in your own home
- Part-time or intermittent nursing visits
- Covered by Medicare’s home health benefit when you qualify
- Care typically starts within 24–48 hours of a referral
Skilled nursing facility
You stay in a facility
- An inpatient setting with daily skilled care
- Staff are on site around the clock
- Medicare covers facility stays under different rules
- Usually used when care at home is not yet possible
Eligibility
Who qualifies for skilled nursing at home?
Under Original Medicare you qualify when you are homebound, need intermittent skilled nursing, and a doctor or allowed practitioner sees you in person and orders it. The agency must be Medicare-certified — Rinaldi is.
FAQ
Skilled nursing at home: questions, answered
What is skilled nursing care at home?
Skilled nursing care at home is part-time care from a licensed nurse who visits you where you live, following a plan of care your doctor or an allowed practitioner approves. It can include wound care, injections, monitoring a serious illness and teaching you and your family how to manage your health.
What does a home health nurse do on their visits?
A home health nurse checks your vital signs and symptoms, reviews your medications, provides the treatments your doctor ordered — such as wound care or injections — teaches you and your caregivers, and reports changes to your doctor so the plan of care can be updated.
Is in-home nursing care covered by Medicare?
Yes, for eligible patients. Original Medicare covers part-time or intermittent skilled nursing at home when you are homebound, a doctor or allowed practitioner orders it after seeing you in person, and a Medicare-certified agency provides it. You pay $0 for covered home health services.
How often will a home health nurse visit?
Your plan of care sets the schedule. Medicare covers intermittent skilled nursing, which it defines as care needed fewer than 7 days a week or less than 8 hours a day, for periods of 21 days or less, with limited extensions when the need is finite and predictable.
Can skilled nursing be done at home?
Yes. Many skilled nursing services — wound care, injections, health monitoring and patient education — can be provided in your home by a visiting nurse. Rinaldi Home Health Care provides skilled nursing at home across Los Angeles County and Southern California.
Is skilled nursing at home the same as a skilled nursing facility?
No. With skilled nursing at home, a nurse visits you and you keep living in your own home. A skilled nursing facility is an inpatient setting where you stay and receive daily skilled care, and Medicare covers it under different rules.
Need skilled nursing at home?
Call (818) 898-1100 and we'll explain the next steps, including what your doctor needs to send. Physicians can fax referrals to (818) 898-1145.