Does Your Loved One Need Home Care or Home Health Care?
When someone you love needs more help at home, figuring out what kind of care they need can be confusing. Home care and home health care sound similar, but they provide different types of support.
Home care helps with everyday needs such as bathing, meals, mobility and companionship. Home health care provides skilled medical services such as nursing or therapy.
Some people need one. Some need both. Understanding the difference can help you know what questions to ask and where to start.
What’s the Difference Between Home Care and Home Health Care?
The simplest way to think about it is this:
Home care helps with daily life. Home health care helps with medical needs.
| Home Care | Home Health Care | |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Help with daily activities, safety and independence |
Skilled medical care for an illness, injury or health condition |
| Typical services | Bathing, dressing, meals, mobility, transportation and companionship |
Nursing, wound care, therapy and medical monitoring |
| Who provides it | Caregivers or personal care aides; some providers also offer services from licensed nurses |
Nurses, therapists and other healthcare professionals |
| Provider order | Usually not required for personal home care |
Required for Medicare-covered home health care |
| Typical payment | Often private pay; some long-term care insurance policies may help |
Medicare or private insurance may cover qualifying services |
When Might Home Care Be Helpful?
Home care may be helpful when everyday activities are becoming harder or less safe.
Maybe preparing meals has become difficult. Your parent is no longer comfortable driving. Getting in and out of the shower now requires help. Or a family caregiver simply needs additional support.
Sometimes these changes happen gradually rather than after a specific illness or hospital stay. A person can be medically stable and still benefit from help with daily routines, mobility, transportation or companionship.
Home care can provide that extra support while helping someone continue living where they feel most comfortable.
When Might Someone Need Home Health Care?
Home health care often becomes part of the conversation after surgery, a hospital stay, an injury or a significant change in a health condition.
A healthcare provider may order skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy or other medical services that can be provided at home.
For Medicare-covered home health care, a qualified healthcare provider must order the care, and a Medicare-certified home health agency must provide it. The person must also meet Medicare’s eligibility requirements, including needing part-time or intermittent skilled services and being considered homebound.
Can Someone Need Both?
Yes.
For example, someone recovering from a fall might receive physical therapy and nursing visits through a home health agency while a home care caregiver helps with bathing, meals, mobility and companionship.
The home health services may end as the person recovers, while home care continues to provide the day-to-day help they still need.
If your loved one needs short-term rehabilitation before returning home, Aviv Rehabilitation Center at The William Breman Jewish Home offers inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation.
Who Pays for Home Care and Home Health Care?
Home care is typically paid for privately, although some families use long-term care insurance to help with the cost.
Medicare may cover qualifying home health services when medically necessary skilled nursing or therapy is ordered by a healthcare provider and the person meets Medicare’s requirements.
Medicare generally does not cover personal or custodial care, such as help with bathing or dressing, when that is the only care a person needs.
Because insurance plans and individual circumstances vary, it is important to confirm coverage and possible out-of-pocket costs before care begins.
What Questions Should You Ask Before Choosing Care?
You do not need to know all the terminology before you start looking for help. Begin with what your loved one needs right now.
Ask:
- What has become difficult or unsafe?
- Does my loved one need medical care, help with daily activities or both?
- How many hours of support are needed?
- Who will provide the care?
- What is that person trained or licensed to do?
- Who supervises the care?
- What will insurance cover, and what will we pay privately?
- Can the care plan change as my loved one’s needs change?
A good provider should be able to listen to what is happening, explain what services are appropriate and tell you clearly what they can and cannot provide.
How Eckstein Home Care Supports Atlanta Families
Eckstein Home Care is part of Jewish HomeLife and provides private home care for older adults throughout Metro Atlanta.
Help With Everyday Needs
Eckstein caregivers can help with personal care, meals, medication reminders, mobility, light housekeeping, transportation and companionship. The team also provides dementia care, respite care and support following a hospital or rehabilitation stay.
Care is available in shifts of five hours or more, including overnight and 24-hour support. There is no long-term contract, and care can often be arranged the same day when needed.
Clinical Services and Nursing Oversight
Eckstein can also provide certain clinical services through licensed nursing professionals.
Wound care, IV care, catheter placement and medication management require an LPN. An RN oversees clinical services provided by LPNs, CNAs and caregivers.
Medication support depends on the team member’s role. Caregivers can remind clients when it is time to take their medications, but they do not physically administer them. Licensed nursing staff may handle medication-management responsibilities such as ordering medications, requesting medication changes, filling pill planners and administering certain medications when appropriate.
Not every Eckstein caregiver is a Certified Nursing Assistant. Caregivers receive ongoing training and competency education, and each care plan is designed with RN oversight.
If you are not sure what level of support your loved one needs, contact the Eckstein Home Care team or call 404-751-2277. The team can learn more about your situation, explain available services and help you determine the next step.
Finding the Right Support
You don’t have to know exactly what kind of care to ask for before reaching out. Start with what has changed and where your loved one could use more support.
From there, the right questions and the right type of care become much clearer.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical, insurance, legal or financial advice. Coverage and eligibility rules vary and may change. Families should confirm current information with Medicare, their insurance provider and qualified care professionals.
