Home health care vs. home care: what's the difference?

Home health vs. home care: the short answer

Home health is medical. A doctor or other provider orders it, a licensed nurse or therapist delivers it, and it usually ends when the person has recovered from an illness, injury or hospital stay. Home care is everyday help — bathing, dressing, meals, getting to the bathroom, company and supervision — from an aide or caregiver who does not need a nursing license.

Most families need both at some point. A parent comes home from the hospital with in home health care from an agency: a nurse checks the wound, a therapist works on walking. Three weeks later the nurse stops coming, but your parent still can't shower safely alone. That second need is home care, and it is paid for differently.

If you are not sure which one you are looking for, start with what in-home care means and our guide to non-medical home care.

What home health care services include

Home health care services are skilled care delivered where the patient lives. Medicare.gov lists what it covers under the home health benefit:

• Skilled nursing — wound care, injections, IV therapy, and watching an unstable condition.
• Therapy — physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology.
• Medical social services — help with the social and emotional side of an illness.
• Home health aide visits — hands-on personal care, but only while the person is also getting skilled care.
• Medical equipment and supplies ordered as part of the plan of care.

These in home health care services are what people mean by medical home care services, or medical in home care. When a discharge planner says "we'll set you up with home health," this is the list. Medical in home care services are visit-based: a nurse may come twice a week for an hour, a therapist three times a week. Nobody stays all day.

If you need a nurse for longer shifts, that is in-home nursing care or private duty nursing — a separate service, usually private pay or Medicaid.

What a home health agency does

A home health agency is the organization that employs the nurses, therapists and aides, and bills Medicare, Medicaid or insurance. For Medicare to pay, it has to be a Medicare-certified home health agency. The agency sends a nurse or therapist to assess the patient, writes the plan of care with the doctor, schedules visits and keeps the doctor updated.

You will see the same thing called a home health care provider, one of the in home health care providers, a home health provider, an at home healthcare agency or a "health at home agency." Home health provider services are the visits and coordination that agency delivers. Some home health care agencies also run a non-medical division; ask which side you are talking to.

Agencies for home health care vs. home care agencies

Agencies for home health care are licensed and, if they bill Medicare, certified and inspected against federal rules. In home healthcare agencies must use aides who have finished at least 75 hours of training (see home health aides). A non medical home care agency is licensed by the state in many places but is not Medicare-certified, because Medicare does not pay for what it does. Neither is better — they do different jobs.

Non-medical home care: help with daily life

Non medical home care is help with the activities of daily living. Non medical home care services usually include:

• Bathing, dressing, grooming and toileting
• Meals, light housekeeping, laundry and errands
• Medication reminders (not giving medication)
• Walking, transfers and fall prevention
• Company, supervision and respite for a family caregiver

People also search for "non medical home health care," which mixes the two terms. What they almost always want is non-medical home care: an aide or companion for a set number of hours a week. This is the care that can last for years, and it is the care most families end up paying for or getting through Medicaid. See senior home care and part-time and short-term home care.

Home health care vs. home care side by side

A useful rule: if the task needs a nursing license or a therapist's skill, it's home health. If a trained, caring adult could do it, it's home care.

Who orders home health, and when Medicare pays

Medicare's home health benefit is generous but narrow. According to Medicare.gov, you qualify when all of these are true:

1. You are homebound. Leaving home isn't recommended because of your condition, or you can't leave without help, and leaving takes a major effort.
2. A doctor or allowed provider has seen you in person and orders home health as part of a plan of care.
3. You need part-time or intermittent skilled care — nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy, or continuing occupational therapy.
4. A Medicare-certified home health agency provides the care.

What Medicare does not cover

Medicare does not pay for 24-hour care at home, meal delivery, homemaker services unrelated to the care plan, or personal care when that is the only care you need. It also does not pay family caregivers — see does Medicare pay family caregivers.

Private home health care, Medicaid and insurance

When Medicare doesn't apply, there are three other ways to pay.

Medicaid

Home health is a mandatory Medicaid benefit, so every state covers it. Personal care and most long-term home care come through optional benefits and waivers, which vary by state. Many of those programs let the person receiving care hire a relative — see Medicaid home care and how to get paid to care for a family member.

Private pay home health

Private home health care means paying an agency directly, without Medicare. Families use private home healthcare agencies when a parent isn't homebound, needs more hours than Medicare allows, or wants private duty home health care — a nurse or aide for long shifts. Private home health care services cost more than non-medical care because licensed staff cost more. Ask for rates in writing. Some people shorten it to "private home health"; it is the same thing.

Long-term care insurance and the VA

Many long-term care insurance policies pay for home health and home care once you need help with daily activities. The VA has home care benefits for eligible veterans. See the cost of in-home care for how each source works.

Home health care for elderly parents and seniors

Most home health for seniors — home healthcare for seniors, in other words — starts after a hospital or rehab stay. Senior home health care is the same Medicare benefit anyone gets; it's simply that older adults use it most. Home health services for seniors are good at getting someone back on their feet. They are not designed to keep a frail parent safe at home for years.

That's the gap families run into with home health care for parents. Home health for elderly patients may end while the need for help does not. When you plan home health care for an elderly parent, ask the agency on day one: "When you discharge her, who will help with bathing and meals?" The answer is usually non-medical home care, a family caregiver, or both.

Home health care options for seniors, from most to least medical:

• Skilled home health visits (Medicare, Medicaid, insurance)
• In-home nursing or private duty nursing for complex needs
• A home health aide for personal care
• Non-medical home care for daily help
• A paid family caregiver through Medicaid — see caring for aging parents

Adult home health care for a younger adult with a disability works the same way. In home health care for seniors and for younger adults both rest on the doctor's order and the skilled need.

Long-term home health care: programs and options

Long term home health care, in the strict sense, is rare. Medicare's benefit has no set limit on visits as long as you keep qualifying, but most people stop needing skilled care. What families call long-term home health is usually long-term home care plus occasional skilled visits.

The home health care programs that pay for long-term help at home are mostly Medicaid programs: personal care, waivers, and self-directed options. Each state runs its home health program and home care programs differently. Our state programs table shows what yours offers, and you can check eligibility in two minutes.

The home health care system is really two systems: a medical one paid by Medicare and insurance, and a long-term care one paid mostly by Medicaid and families. Your home health options depend on which side your need falls.

Home health workers and caregivers: who comes to the house

Home health workers include registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, physical and occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers and aides. Home health care workers who do hands-on personal care are home health aides; the federal government counts them together with personal care aides as "home health and personal care aides." The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a median wage of $35,800 a year for that group in May 2025.

You'll also hear "home health assistant" or "health caregiver" — usually a home health aide. When people search caregivers home health care or caregivers home health services, they often want an aide who can help with bathing and dressing. On the home care side, that caregiver can be a relative who gets paid through Medicaid — read become a paid caregiver for a family member.

Finding home health care agencies near me

Searches for home health care agencies near me, home health care agency near me or home health services near me all have one best first stop for Medicare home health: Medicare's Care Compare, which lists every certified agency serving a ZIP code, with inspection results and patient survey scores. Your doctor or hospital discharge planner should also give you a list.

For home care, there is no federal list. Use your state's home care licensing lookup, your Area Agency on Aging, and our home care near me guide.

Whatever you typed — in home healthcare near me, home health places near me, home health care places near me, home health care nearby, in home health services near me, in home health near me, home health assistance near me, health home care near me, home health caregivers near me or home health care workers near me — narrow it with two questions: is the need skilled, and who is paying? Then you only call the agencies that fit.

How to choose the best home health agency near me

"Best home health care near me" depends on your parent's needs, but the checks are the same. Before you pick from the best home health care agencies near me in a search result, ask:

1. Are you Medicare-certified, and do you take my parent's insurance or Medicaid plan?
2. Can you start within the time the doctor wants?
3. Who supervises aides, and how often does a nurse visit?
4. What happens when my parent is discharged from home health — do you offer home care too?
5. What did your last state inspection find?

The best home health agency near me is the one that answers these clearly and in writing. For the best in home health care near me on the non-medical side, use our checklist for choosing a home care agency.

Home health phone numbers: who to call first

People often search for a home health phone number, a phone number for home health care, a home health care number or simply a home health number. There isn't one national number. The phone number for home health you want is the intake line of a certified agency that serves your ZIP code — Care Compare lists them, and the discharge planner can call for you.

For home care or help paying for it, call your local Area Agency on Aging or your state Medicaid agency. Your state page lists how to apply in your state.

Home health care by state

Medicare's home health rules are the same everywhere. Medicaid home care is not. A few states people ask about:

• Home health care NJ: New Jersey's Medicaid self-directed option is the Personal Preference Program. See New Jersey and Bergen County.
• Home health care in Florida: Florida's long-term care program has a participant-directed option, with reported pay of $15–$25 an hour. See Florida and Miami-Dade County.
• Home health care Connecticut: Connecticut offers Community First Choice and the CT Home Care Program. See the Connecticut caregiver program.
• Home health care agencies Delaware: Care Compare is the quickest answer to "home health care Delaware" searches; DSHP-Plus self-directed care reports $13–$21 an hour. See Delaware and New Castle County.
• Home health care Washington: Washington reports $22.52–$27.28 an hour for paid caregivers. See Washington and King County.
• List of home health agencies in Georgia: Care Compare gives the current list by county. Georgia also runs Structured Family Caregiving — see Georgia and Fulton County.

Local home health care: the words people use

Local home health care goes by many names, and the names don't always match the service. "At home health," "health at home," "health at home care," "at home health care," "in home health" and "at home healthcare" usually mean medical home health. "Senior home health," "senior home healthcare" and "senior care home health" are often searches for non-medical care for an older parent. Some searches double up the words — "home home health," "at home home health," "care home health" or "at home care home health" — or mix them, as in "home and health care," "healthcare home services," "health home care agency" or "care in the home health services."

Home health care facilities, strictly speaking, don't exist: home health is delivered in your home, not in a facility. If you want a facility, compare assisted living vs. home care.

Home health care assistance, home healthcare assistance and home medical assistance can mean either kind of care. If you're looking for home health care help, the question to settle is whether you need skilled care. If you need home health care services for recovery, start with the doctor. If you need daily help, start with home care.

Can a family member be paid to provide home care?

For home health, no — Medicare pays certified agencies, not relatives. For home care, often yes. Medicaid programs in every state and DC can pay a family member for the personal care a relative needs, and some agencies hire family members as aides. See home care agencies that hire family members and agency care vs. a paid family caregiver.

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