HOME CARE VS HOME HEALTH CARE

Home Care Aides provide custodial care; they help persons with their activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, housekeeping and transportation. This is also referred to as personal care, attendant care, non-medical care and companion care.

Home Health Aides offer care such as checking patients’ pulses, temperature or respiration. They assist with medications, braces, ventilators and other medical equipment and can provide higher level skilled nursing as well as more basic personal care. Home health aides are also referred to as nurse aides, nursing assistants, certified nursing assistants and geriatric aides.

Care nurse serving dinner to a senior woman at home

Costs: Home Health & Alzheimer’s Care

Both home care aides and home health aides bill on an hourly basis (with the exception of live in caregivers who sometime bill flat rates). Home care aides can be retained through a home care agency or by hiring private caregivers. Home health aides experience greater federal regulation and are almost always hired through an agency. A skilled nurse or therapist typically costs $70.00 to $100.00 per hour.

Can I use Medicare to pay for in-home care?

Medicare Parts A and B cover some aspects of in-home care, such as skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech-language therapy, or occupational therapy through a certified home health agency. This is typically associated with an episode of care. Medicare typically does not cover long-term home care, such as services provided by a home health aide.

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What does it cover?

Policies will pay up to $150/day for services like skilled or general nursing care, speech pathology, and occupational therapy. They also provide benefits for home health care aides, prescription drugs, and home hospice services. For an extra few dollars per month, you can add physical exam, vision, hearing, and ambulance benefits.

Starting as low as $19.40/month for a 65- to 70-year-old, this plan is extremely affordable.