Get answers to common questions about our home health services, coverage, and how we can help you or your loved ones receive quality care at home.
Family-Owned, Locally Operated
Home health care is skilled medical care delivered by licensed healthcare professionals in the comfort of your own home. It is ordered by a physician and designed to help patients recover from illness, surgery, or injury, manage chronic conditions, and maintain independence at home. Home health care is not the same as home care or personal care. Home health involves clinical services — skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and medical social services — provided by licensed and certified professionals under a physician-approved plan of care. It is a covered medical benefit under Medicare, Medicaid, and most commercial insurance plans when the patient meets eligibility criteria.
Home health care may be appropriate for patients who have recently been discharged from a hospital or skilled nursing facility, are recovering from surgery or a significant illness, are managing a chronic condition such as congestive heart failure, COPD, or diabetes, have had a decline in function or mobility, or have medical needs that require skilled clinical oversight but do not require an inpatient stay. Patients receiving home health must generally meet Medicare’s definition of homebound — meaning that leaving the home requires a considerable effort or the assistance of another person. Your physician can help determine whether home health is appropriate for your situation.
Yes. Home health care requires a physician order. A licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist must order home health services and certify that the patient meets eligibility criteria, including medical necessity and homebound status. If you or a family member believe home health may be needed, speak with your doctor, your hospital’s discharge planner, or your specialist. You can also contact our office directly and we will work with your physician’s office to help facilitate the order and referral process.
Our skilled nurses provide a comprehensive range of clinical services in the home including wound care and dressing changes, medication management and education, disease monitoring and chronic condition management, post-surgical recovery support, vital sign monitoring, lab draws and specimen collection, IV therapy, catheter care, diabetes education and insulin management, patient and caregiver education, and coordination with the physician throughout the plan of care. Skilled nursing is the foundation of home health care and is far more than a simple check-in visit. It involves clinical assessment, treatment, education, and ongoing coordination to help patients recover safely and avoid unnecessary complications or hospitalizations.
Tricare Home Health Services Inc. proudly serves Bexar County first, including all of San Antonio, as well as the surrounding counties contiguous to Bexar County — Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, and Wilson counties. If you are unsure whether we serve your specific area, please call our office at 210-342-7777 and we will be happy to confirm coverage for your location.
Yes. We accept a broad range of insurance plans including Original Medicare, select Medicare Advantage PPO plans, commercial insurance, and VA and military programs. For our Remote Patient Monitoring program, we accept Texas Medicaid and participating Medicaid managed care plans. Please visit our Insurance and Coverage page for a full list of accepted plans. Because coverage, authorization requirements, and eligibility can vary by plan and patient circumstances, we always recommend calling our office to verify your specific coverage before care begins.
In most cases we can begin the intake and coordination process immediately upon receiving a referral or patient request. The actual start of care depends on physician order completion, insurance verification, and authorization requirements — but our team works to move through this process as efficiently as possible. For urgent or post-hospital discharge cases, please call our office directly at 210-342-7777 so we can prioritize your intake.
Referrals can be submitted through our online referral form on the Refer a Patient page, by calling our office at 210-342-7777, or by faxing referral information to 210-342-5030. You can also email referrals to intake@tricaresa.com. To process a referral quickly, it is helpful to have the patient’s diagnosis, insurance information, physician orders, and face-to-face documentation available. Our intake team will follow up promptly to confirm receipt and coordinate next steps.
Tricare Home Health Services Inc. has been serving San Antonio and the surrounding communities since 1996 — nearly three decades of consistent, physician-coordinated, family-owned home health care. We are not a corporate chain. We are licensed by the State of Texas, Medicare and Medicaid certified, and hold certifications as a recognized Minority Business Enterprise and Small Business Enterprise through the South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency. Our clinical team brings a combined total of more than 100 years of home health experience to every patient we serve.
Home health care and home care are two different things and the distinction matters. Home health care involves skilled medical services — nursing, therapy, social services — provided by licensed clinical professionals under a physician’s order. It is a covered medical benefit under Medicare and most insurance plans. Home care, sometimes called personal care or custodial care, involves non-medical assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation, and companionship. It is not typically covered by Medicare and is not provided by licensed clinical staff. Tricare Home Health Services Inc. provides skilled home health care.
Homebound is a Medicare eligibility requirement for home health services. A patient is considered homebound when leaving the home requires a considerable and taxing effort, or requires the assistance of another person or a medical device such as a walker, wheelchair, or crutches. A patient does not have to be completely confined to bed to qualify as homebound. Patients may still leave the home for medical appointments, religious services, or adult day programs on an infrequent basis and still meet the homebound criteria. Your physician determines homebound status as part of the home health certification process.
There is no fixed limit on how long a patient can receive home health care under Medicare, as long as the patient continues to meet eligibility criteria — meaning they remain homebound, have a skilled care need, and their physician continues to certify the need for services. Home health care is provided in 60-day certification periods called episodes. At the end of each episode, the physician reviews the patient’s progress and recertifies if continued services are warranted.
Tricare Home Health Services Inc. provides 24/7 on-call support as required for all Medicare-certified home health agencies. If a current patient or their family has an urgent clinical need after regular office hours, they can call our main number at 210-342-7777 and will be connected with our on-call clinical staff. For life-threatening emergencies, always call 911 first.
Yes. Medicare covers home health care when the following criteria are met: the patient is homebound, a physician orders the services, the care is provided by a Medicare-certified home health agency, and the services are medically necessary. When these criteria are met, Medicare covers the full cost of skilled home health services with no copay or deductible for the patient. Tricare Home Health Services Inc. is Medicare-certified. Our team will verify your Medicare eligibility and work with your physician to ensure all requirements are met before care begins.
Our experienced team is here to help you understand your options and get the care you need. Call us during office hours or send us a message anytime.
