Blog

HealthSmart Preferred Home Health Care in SW Fort Worth/Burleson, TX

Written By
Patrick Acker
Published On
May 19, 2026

HealthSmart Preferred Home Health Care in SW Fort Worth/Burleson, TX

If your insurance card shows HealthSmart Preferred Care as your plan administrator and you are searching for covered home health care near Burleson or southwest Fort Worth, Texas, you are in the right place. Home care is often a covered benefit under HealthSmart Preferred networks, and understanding how that coverage works can save your family both time and out-of-pocket expense. BrightStar Care of Burleson is a Joint Commission Accredited home health agency serving the southwest Fort Worth and Burleson area, and our team works directly with HealthSmart network contracts to coordinate authorized skilled nursing and personal care services in your home.

What Is a HealthSmart Network and How Does It Work?

HealthSmart is one of the largest independent third-party administrators in the United States, managing health benefit plans for self-funded employers, insurance carriers, and workers' compensation programs. When your employer's health plan is administered through HealthSmart Preferred Care, HealthSmart contracts with a network of providers — including home health agencies — and processes claims on behalf of your plan. Rather than dealing directly with a traditional insurance carrier, your benefits coordinator contacts HealthSmart, and HealthSmart works with in-network providers like BrightStar Care to authorize and reimburse covered services.

For families in Hidden Creek, Summer Creek, Briar Meadow, and other communities across the Burleson and southwest Fort Worth area, this means your home care benefit may be more accessible than you realize. Many HealthSmart-administered plans cover skilled nursing visits, wound care, medication management, physical and occupational therapy delivered at home, and personal care services following a qualifying hospitalization or medical event.

Home Health Care Services Covered Through HealthSmart Plans

Coverage specifics vary by plan, but HealthSmart Preferred network benefits commonly include the following home health services when ordered by a physician or authorized practitioner:

  • Skilled nursing visits — Registered Nurse assessments, wound care, IV therapy, medication administration, lab draws, and ostomy care delivered in the home
  • Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy — post-surgical and post-hospitalization rehabilitation in the home setting
  • Personal care and assistance — bathing, dressing, grooming, and mobility assistance provided by certified home health aides under RN supervision
  • Medication management — RN-supervised medication reconciliation and administration, especially important after a hospital discharge or medication change
  • Transitional care coordination — discharge planning and home care setup following a stay at Huguley Medical Center, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest, AdventHealth Burleson, or another area facility

BrightStar Care of Burleson provides all of the above services, and our Registered Nurse Director of Nursing oversees every care plan to ensure clinical quality and continuity. This RN-led model satisfies most plan requirements for skilled nursing supervision — an important criteria when submitting for HealthSmart authorization.

Getting Authorization for Home Care Under Your HealthSmart Plan

The authorization process for preferred home health care under a HealthSmart-administered plan typically follows these steps:

  1. Obtain a physician's order. Your primary care physician or discharging physician at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Hillcrest, Lake Granbury Medical Center, or any treating facility must write a home care order specifying the services needed.
  2. Contact BrightStar Care of Burleson. Our intake team verifies your HealthSmart benefit, confirms in-network status, and contacts HealthSmart directly to initiate the pre-authorization request on your behalf.
  3. Authorization review. HealthSmart reviews the clinical documentation and issues an authorization number covering a specific number of visits or hours.
  4. Care begins. Once authorized, our RN Director of Nursing conducts an in-home assessment, develops a personalized care plan, and services begin — usually within 24 to 48 hours of authorization.

Families in Joshua Farms, Rendon, and throughout the Burleson and SW Fort Worth area consistently tell us that this process is less complicated than they expected once they have a dedicated point of contact managing the coordination. Our team handles the paperwork so your family can focus on recovery and care.

Why Families Choose BrightStar Care of Burleson for Preferred Home Health Care

Home care fort worth families and Burleson residents searching for a trusted, in-network preferred home health care provider consistently name the same priorities: clinical credibility, reliability, and transparency about costs. BrightStar Care of Burleson delivers on each of these:

  • Joint Commission Accreditation — BrightStar Care is Joint Commission Accredited, reflecting our commitment to the highest standards in home health care. This accreditation is recognized by HealthSmart and most major plan administrators as a mark of clinical quality.
  • RN-supervised care model — All care is supervised by a Registered Nurse Director of Nursing who develops individualized care plans and provides ongoing clinical oversight for every client.
  • Full clinical capability — From wound VAC management and IV infusion therapy to in-home lab draws and feeding tube care, BrightStar Care offers skilled nursing services that most non-clinical home care agencies cannot provide.
  • No contracts required — Families are never locked into a long-term service agreement.
  • 24/7 availability with live answer — Someone is always available, including after hours and on weekends.
  • Long-term care insurance accepted — For clients with both a HealthSmart health plan and a separate long-term care insurance policy, our team can coordinate billing across both payers simultaneously.

Service Area: Southwest Fort Worth and Burleson

BrightStar Care of Burleson provides home health care throughout southwest Fort Worth, Burleson, Crowley, Mansfield, Kennedale, Everman, Rendon, Joshua, and surrounding communities in Tarrant and Johnson County. Families near Huguley Medical Center and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest are among those we serve most frequently, often transitioning directly from hospital discharge to home care within the same day.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Preferred Home Care offer?

Preferred home health care through a HealthSmart Preferred network typically covers a range of medical and personal care services delivered in the patient's home, including skilled nursing visits, physical and occupational therapy, medication management, wound care, and personal care assistance. The specific services covered depend on the individual plan's benefit design. BrightStar Care of Burleson can verify your specific HealthSmart plan benefits and confirm which services are authorized under your coverage at no cost to you before care begins.

What is a HealthSmart network?

HealthSmart is a third-party benefits administrator that manages health plans for self-funded employers and other organizations. A HealthSmart network is a contracted group of healthcare providers — including hospitals, physicians, and home health agencies — who have agreed to provide services at negotiated rates to HealthSmart plan members. When you use an in-network provider like BrightStar Care of Burleson, your out-of-pocket costs are typically lower than if you use an out-of-network provider.

Will Medicare pay for home care in Texas?

Medicare does cover home health care in Texas under certain conditions. To qualify, a Medicare beneficiary must be considered homebound, have a documented medical need for skilled care, have a physician certify the need for home health services, and receive care from a Medicare-certified home health agency. Medicare covers skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and certain home health aide services when these criteria are met. It is important to note that Medicare is distinct from HealthSmart-administered plans — if your coverage is through a HealthSmart employer plan rather than Medicare, different authorization processes apply. BrightStar Care of Burleson accepts Medicare and can help clarify which benefit applies to your situation.

Does Medicaid pay for home health care in Texas?

Yes, Medicaid in Texas can pay for home health care through several programs, including the Texas Medicaid Home Health benefit for qualifying acute and chronic care needs, and waiver programs such as the Community Attendant Services program and STAR+PLUS for members who meet medical and financial eligibility criteria. Medicaid home health benefits in Texas cover skilled nursing, therapy services, and personal care assistance when medically necessary and authorized. Eligibility and covered services vary by program and individual circumstances. If you or a family member has both Medicaid and a HealthSmart employer plan, you may be eligible for coordination of benefits across both payers.

Is long-term care insurance worth it for covering home care costs?

For many families, long-term care insurance represents one of the most practical ways to protect assets and fund home care services that health insurance — including HealthSmart plans — does not fully cover. Most long-term care insurance policies cover personal care, companion care, and custodial services that fall outside the scope of medical home health benefits. Given that the cost of home care in the Fort Worth and Burleson area can range from roughly $25 to $40 per hour for personal care and significantly more for skilled nursing services, an active long-term care insurance policy can offset substantial expenses over time. BrightStar Care of Burleson accepts most long-term care insurance plans and can assist with claims documentation and direct billing to your carrier.

How quickly can home care start after hospital discharge?

In most cases, BrightStar Care of Burleson can begin services within 24 to 48 hours of receiving a physician's order and insurance authorization. For urgent situations, including discharges from Huguley Medical Center, AdventHealth Burleson, or Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest, our intake team prioritizes same-day or next-day starts whenever clinically appropriate and authorized. We encourage families to call us before discharge to give us the maximum time to coordinate authorization and have a care team ready.

What skilled nursing services does BrightStar Care provide at home?

BrightStar Care of Burleson provides a comprehensive range of skilled nursing services in the home, including wound care and wound VAC therapy, IV infusion therapy and specialty infusions, in-home lab draws and blood work, feeding tube management, ostomy care, medication management and administration, catheter care, diabetic care and monitoring, and post-surgical nursing assessments. All skilled nursing services are performed by or under the direct supervision of a licensed Registered Nurse, satisfying the clinical oversight requirements most HealthSmart-administered plans require for authorization and reimbursement.

About the Author

This article was written under the direction of Patrick Acker, owner and operator of BrightStar Care of Burleson. BrightStar Care of Burleson is a Joint Commission Accredited home health agency providing skilled nursing, personal care, and therapy services to families throughout southwest Fort Worth, Burleson, and surrounding Tarrant and Johnson County communities. Joint Commission Accreditation reflects adherence to rigorous national standards for home health care quality, safety, and patient satisfaction — the same standards recognized by HealthSmart and major health plan administrators.