What Is Home Care? Personal Care and Companion Support Explained
Home care usually means non-medical or personal support delivered where an older adult lives. A home-care aide may help with bathing, dressing, meals, light housekeeping, companionship, transportation or supervision.
Home care is different from home health, which refers to medically necessary skilled services provided by qualified clinicians under applicable coverage and care-plan rules.
What can home-care aides help with?
- bathing and grooming;
- dressing;
- toileting and continence support;
- meal preparation;
- light housekeeping;
- companionship;
- transportation and errands;
- mobility supervision;
- medication reminders, depending on state rules and agency policy.
What home care usually does not replace
Home-care aides are not a substitute for emergency medical care, a licensed nurse when skilled nursing is required, or 24-hour supervision unless enough caregiver hours are actually scheduled.
Families sometimes arrange four or eight hours per day and assume the parent is “covered.” Write down who is responsible for the remaining hours, especially overnight.
Home care vs home health
Home care focuses on daily living and supervision. Home health focuses on skilled clinical services such as nursing or therapy for eligible patients. A person may receive both at the same time.
See Home Health vs Home Care: What’s the Difference?.
How much does home care cost?
Home care is commonly billed by the hour. CareScout reported a 2025 national median of $35 per hour for non-medical caregiver services. Monthly cost depends on the number of scheduled hours. A few hours of help several days a week is very different from around-the-clock care.
When home care may be a good fit
Home care can work well when the home environment is safe and the needed support can be reliably covered by paid caregivers, family or both. It can also give a family caregiver respite without requiring a move.
When families should reassess
Consider a new plan when the parent repeatedly falls, wanders, cannot be left alone, needs two-person transfers, has serious nighttime needs, or requires so many paid hours that another setting may be safer or more sustainable.
Questions to ask a home-care agency
- Are caregivers employees or independent contractors?
- What background checks and training are required?
- What happens if the regular caregiver calls out?
- What tasks are caregivers permitted to perform?
- Is there a minimum shift length?
- How are nights, weekends and holidays priced?
- Who supervises the care plan?
Related NHP guides
If the amount of paid home care needed is becoming difficult to staff or sustain, compare residential options rather than waiting for a crisis. Browse senior-care communities, or use Get Help Finding Care if you need help matching the current care needs to a setting.
Sources
Reviewed October 24, 2026. Home-care scope, licensing and pricing vary by state and provider.
