how much does home health care cost

How Much Does Home Health Care Cost?

When it comes to home health services, one of the most common questions people ask is “how much does home health care cost?”

While the cost can vary greatly, below you’ll find the average cost you can expect to pay for home health services. You’ll also find information about the different factors that can affect pricing. 

How Much Does Home Health Care Cost?

There’s no exact answer for this one, unfortunately. This is because there are a lot of other factors that will affect how much home health care costs. 

So the numbers below are just estimates. The only way to know for sure is get in touch with a few home health care companies in your area to get some numbers.

That said, to give you a rough estimate, the national average home health care costs around $26 an hour. But there are a lot of other factors that affect how much home care costs. 

If you’re looking for home health aides to be around 24/7, the monthly costs can be around $17,000 or more (but there’s some good news about this so keep reading!).

Factors That Affect The Cost of Home Health Care 

One factor that affects how much home health care costs is the one who will provide it. And also the care they will be providing. 

Expect to pay more for someone who can provide therapy and skilled nursing care. If you just need someone to help with giving medication and help with daily activities, their costs may be lower. 

Another factor that affects costs is where you live. The costs can vary quite a bit on a state-by-state basis. 

The cost of home health care from state to state ranges from around $17 to $32 per hour. The least expensive state to get home health care is Louisiana, which is only $17 per hour. On the other hand, the most expensive state for home health care is in Washington, costing $32. 

But of course, those are just the average costs and not yet the minimum and maximum costs per state. Also, the prices still differ depending on the healthcare provider from state to state. 

Whether you live in a big city vs. a rural area will also play a role in costs. While many things are more expensive in big cities, home health care may actually cost more in rural areas. This is because there are not as many aides available.

Paying For Home Health Care

We mentioned some good news about the seemingly high monthly costs of home health aides. And that is that, if you are a Medicare beneficiary, home health services are covered. Thankfully, they are covered. Both Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B cover home health care. 

Medicare only provides coverage for various types of home health care and will only do so if considered medically necessary. But Medicare will not cover home health care for custodial care and services.

Types of In-Home Care

While the above focuses on home health care, there are a few different types of in-home care someone can get.

One is companion care. This is where a senior will have someone who basically keeps them company. They’ll spend time with the senior at home and may take them out to go to a doctor’s appointment or run some errands. 

They may also do some chores around the home and prepare meals. But the main goal of companion care is to provide emotional and social support to seniors.

The next level up is a personal care assistant. This is someone who will help a senior with daily tasks (or ADLs – activities of daily living). Among the activities they can help with are eating, bathing and using the toilet. 

Then there is home health care. Home health care aides will provide medical services for the senior. This can include skilled nursing care, therapy services, help with catheters, and administering medicine (including injections).