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Home Care Services
Reviewed by Medicinsk Expert•Last updated: 2026-10-22•Older Adults

Home Care Services

Home care provides essential support for individuals with special needs, allowing them to maintain independence within their own homes.

Overview

Home care is care that allows a person with special needs to stay in their home. It might be for people who are getting older (aging in place). It could also be for people who are chronically ill, recovering from surgery, or have a disability.

Services Provided

Home care services include:

  • Personal care, such as help with bathing, washing your hair, or getting dressed
  • Household chores, such as cleaning, yard work, and laundry
  • Cooking for you in your home or delivering meals to you
  • Money management, such as help filling out forms and making sure that your bills are paid on time
  • Health care, such as having a home health aide come to your home or getting care from your provider through telehealth

Costs and Coverage

You can get almost any type of help you want in your home. You have to pay for many of them. But some types of care and community services are free or donated. Sometimes government programs or your health insurance will help cover the cost of certain home care services.

Frequently Asked Questions

clinical home assessment focuses on eliminating fall risks and improving functional mobility. Key modifications include removing throw rugs, securing electrical cords, installing dual grab bars in showers and beside toilets, placing non-slip mats in wet areas, ensuring adequate lighting (especially along paths to the bathroom at night), evaluating stair safety, and verifying that assistive devices like walkers can clear standard doorway widths.
Home health care is skilled, intermittent medical care prescribed by a physician, delivered by licensed professionals such as registered nurses, physical therapists, and occupational therapists for wound care, post-surgical rehabilitation, or disease monitoring. Non-medical home care (personal or custodial care) provides help with activities of daily living (ADLs)—such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation, medication reminders, and light housekeeping—and is provided by home care aides without requiring a doctor's order.
Medicare generally does not pay for non-medical custodial care (such as full-time assistance with bathing, dressing, or household chores) if that is the only care you require. Medicare only covers home health services if the patient is certified as homebound by a physician and requires short-term, intermittent skilled nursing care or therapy. Long-term custodial home care is typically paid for out-of-pocket, through private long-term care insurance, or via state Medicaid programs for those who meet financial and medical eligibility criteria.
Families should ask whether the agency is licensed and insured, how they conduct criminal background and reference checks, and whether caregivers are direct employees or independent contractors. Inquire about how caregiver training is conducted, how absences and emergencies are handled, what the protocol is if a caregiver and client are incompatible, and how supervisory nurses monitor and update the individualized care plan over time.
Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

MedlinePlus brings together authoritative health information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations.

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