Home Health Aide Services
Medicare Benefit Policy Manual (CMS Pub. 100-02, Ch. 7§50.2) 
Home health aide covered services may include:
- Personal care including:
- bathing
- dressing
- grooming
- hair care
- nail care
- assistance with ambulation
- changing position in bed
- assistance with transfers
- oral hygiene
- changing bed linens of an incontinent beneficiary
- shaving
- deodorant application
- skin care with lotions and/or powder
- foot care
- ear care
- feeding
- assistance with elimination (enemas, routine catheter care, routine colostomy care)
- Simple dressing changes that do not require the skills of a nurse
- Assistance with medications that are ordinarily self-administered
and do not require the skills of a licensed nurse to be provided safely
and effectively, and may include:
- handing the bottle to the beneficiary
- opening the bottle
- handing the beneficiary water or other liquid to take the medication
- prefilling syringes if not prohibited by state law
- reminding the beneficiary to take prescribed medication
It does not include "prefilling" mediplanners.
- Assistance with activities that are directly supportive of skilled therapy services but do not require the skills of a therapist to be safely and effectively performed. Examples: routine maintenance exercises and repetitive speech routines to support speech-language pathology services.
- Routine care of prosthetic and orthotic device.
Page last updated: Feb. 21, 2008
