Tool For Comparing Home Health Agencies

Connecticut residents now have valuable information at their fingertips. By visiting www.medicare.gov and clicking on Home Health Compare, or by calling a toll-free line at 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) consumers can compare the quality of care provided by most of the state’s Medicare- and Medicaid-certified home health agencies.

Home Health Compare, as this tool is known, allows consumers to see clinical information about home health agency quality in a convenient and easy-to-use format. Searches can be done within a state, city, or ZIP code, or by home health agency name. Information is also provided regarding the type of services available from a particular agency — for example wound care, physical therapy, etc.

Launched in November 2003, Home Health Compare is part of the Home Health Quality Initiative (HHQI), a national project sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency of the United States Department and Human Services (HHS).

Qualidigm is Medicare’s designated quality improvement organization in Connecticut. As part of HHQI, Qualidigm provides no-cost assistance to home health agencies that want to improve the quality of care provided to their patients.

Approximately 75 percent of the home health agencies in Connecticut are participating in this quality initiative.