Home care: costs and options

What help at home covers

Home care agencies send trained caregivers for the everyday tasks that are getting harder: bathing, dressing and getting around, meals and light housekeeping, medication reminders, rides to appointments, and company. Visits can be a few hours a week or most of the day, and many agencies offer overnight and live-in care.

Home care or Medicare home health?

Medicare-certified home health agencies provide skilled care, like nursing and physical therapy, that a doctor orders, often after a hospital stay. Medicare pays for it when your parent is homebound and needs part-time skilled care. It doesn't pay for help with bathing, dressing or meals when that's the only care needed: that's home care, which families usually pay for themselves, or through Medicaid, long-term care insurance or VA benefits. See home health vs. home care.

What drives the hourly cost

• How much help: a few hours a week costs far less than daily visits or care around the clock.
• What kind of help: company, errands and housekeeping, or hands-on personal care like bathing and moving around.
• When: visits usually cost more on evenings, weekends and holidays.
• Where your parent lives: prices vary a lot from one area to the next, which is why an advisor shares local ones.

For the hours no one is there

Between caregiver visits, a medical alert lets your parent call for help with one press, and fall detection can call even when they can't. We compare plans on what the first year really costs.

If daily care is becoming more than a few hours, assisted living may fit better. And if you're comparing nursing homes, we show Medicare's ratings for every one.

Medicare-certified home health agencies by state

Compare Medicare's ratings for the home health agencies near your parent.