Full Definition

Medicare requires a patient to be homebound to receive Medicare-covered home health services. Homebound does NOT mean the person never leaves the home. A homebound patient may leave for: medical appointments, adult day programs, religious services, and brief, infrequent absences for personal reasons — without losing homebound status.

What makes a patient homebound: requiring the assistance of another person or a mobility aid (cane, walker, wheelchair) to leave; or having a condition that contraindicates leaving (severe COPD, post-surgical restrictions, fall risk making unsupported ambulation unsafe).

Homebound status is assessed and certified by the physician who orders home health services. A patient who regains the ability to leave home regularly for non-medical activities may no longer qualify as homebound — and Medicare home health coverage would end. This does not affect the patient’s access to outpatient services, which may be more appropriate once homebound status ends.