Q:  My aunt will soon be receiving home care and we’re told Medicare will only cover skilled services.  What does that mean?

A:  Medicare will only cover procedures requiring the skills of a nurse for safe and effective performance. Some of the services that seem to have a medical component but do not require skilled nursing care include simple wound care; administration of oral medications, eye drops and topical ointments; routine ostomy care or foot care; filling syringes; and insulin injections if the patient is able to do it or there is someone else available to complete the task. If your aunt primarily needs companion care for tasks such as running errands or supervision for dementia, Medicare would not cover those services.

To read other questions and answers from the March 2011 issue of Senior Digest, click here.