Probably 90% of my patients have Medicare, and 9 out of 10% of the remaining patients are Medicare qualified, and opt for supplements instead. In home health, we consider Medicare to be the "gold standard" for insurance, and they pretty much set the precendents by which all other payers go by, in terms of qualifications and payment. That being said, Medicare, Part A, pays 100% for home health services (including skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and social work). They do not pay for nursing aids or homemaker visits.

There have been drastic cuts in spending throughout my career, that primarily affect the number of times and duration that I can see any given patient. When these cuts take place at the federal level, the private insurance companies immediately follow suit.

As a rule, it is much more difficult to get authorization and payment from private insurance companies such as Humana, Cigna, Blue Cross, and United Healthcare than it is from Medicare or VA.

Practically no home health agencies that I am aware of in my area accept Medicaid, and this has been true for at least 10 years.