Medicare Part A pays the full cost of home health care for up to 100 visits following a hospital stay of at least three days. Medicare Part B covers home health-care visits beyond those 100 visits or without a hospital stay. Paid help for personal care, such as that often required by Alzheimer's patients, is not generally covered by Medicare, although Medicaid covers it in some states. A major financial disadvantage of dying at home without hospice is that Medicare does not cover out-patient prescription drugs, even those for pain. Medicaid does cover these drugs, but often with restrictions on their price and quantity.
Private insurance can fill the gap to some extent.
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