When an older adult begins needing assistance at home, families often hear the terms “home care” and “home health care.” Although they sound similar and are sometimes used interchangeably, they generally describe two different types of support.
Home care primarily helps with everyday activities, personal care, safety, and companionship. Home health care provides medical or clinical services ordered by a healthcare provider.
Understanding the difference can help your family choose the right level of support—and recognize when both services may be beneficial.
What Is Home Care?
Home care helps older adults and other individuals continue living safely and comfortably in their own homes. Services are based on the client’s individual needs and may be provided regularly over an extended period.
Home care commonly includes assistance with:
- Bathing, dressing, grooming, and toileting
- Walking, positioning, and transfers
- Meal planning and preparation
- Light housekeeping and laundry
- Companionship and meaningful activities
- Transportation or accompaniment to appointments
- Grocery shopping and errands
- Reminders and help maintaining daily routines
- Respite care for family caregivers
- Observation and reporting of changes or concerns
The goal of home care is to support the person’s safety, comfort, dignity, and independence.
For example, an older adult may be medically stable but have difficulty getting into the shower, preparing meals, doing laundry, or moving safely around the home. A home care caregiver can provide assistance with those everyday needs.
Who Can Benefit From Home Care?
Home care may be appropriate for someone who:
- Wants to remain at home but needs help with daily activities
- Is becoming unsteady or has experienced falls
- Has difficulty bathing, dressing, or preparing meals
- Is experiencing memory changes or confusion
- Feels lonely or isolated
- Needs supervision for safety
- Is recovering after an illness, injury, or hospitalization
- Has a chronic condition that makes daily tasks more difficult
- Relies heavily on a family caregiver
- Needs consistent assistance beyond brief medical visits
Home care can range from a few scheduled visits per week to more extensive daily support, depending on the person’s needs and the provider’s availability.
What Is Home Health Care?
Home health care generally refers to skilled medical services delivered in a person’s home. These services are provided by licensed healthcare professionals and are typically ordered by a physician or another authorized healthcare provider.
Home health services may include:
- Skilled nursing
- Wound care
- Monitoring of a medical condition
- Injections or certain medical treatments
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech-language pathology
- Patient and family education related to an illness or injury
- Medical social services
Home health care is often used after surgery, a hospitalization, an injury, or a significant change in health. It may also be appropriate when a person needs skilled care to manage or monitor an ongoing condition.
Under Medicare rules, covered home health care must be medically necessary and ordered by an authorized healthcare provider. The individual must also meet specific eligibility requirements, including needing part-time or intermittent skilled services and generally being considered homebound. More information is available through Medicare’s home health services guide.
A Simple Example
Consider an older adult returning home after hip surgery.
A home health physical therapist may visit several times a week to provide rehabilitation exercises and evaluate the person’s progress. A home health nurse may monitor the surgical site or provide other medically necessary care.
However, those visits may be relatively brief. The individual might still need help getting dressed in the morning, preparing meals, doing laundry, moving safely to the bathroom, and completing the exercises recommended by the therapist.
That is where home care can help.
The home health professionals address the person’s skilled medical and rehabilitation needs. The home care caregiver provides practical assistance and support throughout the individual’s daily routine.
Home Care and Home Health Care at a Glance
Home care typically:
- Focuses on everyday assistance and personal support
- Is provided by caregivers or home health aides within the scope of the individual’s care plan
- May continue for weeks, months, or years
- Does not require a physician’s order
- Can be scheduled according to the client’s ongoing needs
- Helps maintain safety and independence at home
Home health care typically:
- Focuses on skilled medical or rehabilitation needs
- Is provided by nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and other licensed professionals
- Often follows an illness, injury, surgery, or hospitalization
- Requires an order and plan of care when covered by Medicare
- Is generally provided on a part-time or intermittent basis
- Continues while the person meets the applicable clinical and coverage requirements
Does Medicare Pay for Home Care?
One of the most important differences involves payment.
Medicare may cover qualifying home health services when eligibility and medical-necessity requirements are met. However, Medicare generally does not pay for long-term personal or “custodial” care when that is the only assistance a person needs.
Help with bathing, dressing, toileting, meals, and other activities of daily living is generally not covered by Medicare on its own. Medicare explains that most non-medical long-term care is not covered, even when it is provided in the home. See Medicare’s information about long-term care coverage.
Depending on the individual’s situation, home care may be paid for through:
- Private funds
- Long-term care insurance
- Certain Veterans Affairs benefits or authorizations
- Medicaid or state programs for eligible individuals
- Other applicable community or insurance programs
Coverage varies significantly. Families should verify benefits directly with the relevant insurer, government program, or care provider before beginning services.
Can Someone Receive Both Types of Care?
Yes. Many people benefit from receiving home care and home health care at the same time.
For example, a person with Parkinson’s disease might receive physical therapy through home health while also receiving home care assistance with dressing, showering, meals, mobility, and companionship.
The two services can complement one another:
- Home health addresses skilled clinical and rehabilitation needs.
- Home care supports the person’s daily life between clinical visits.
- Caregivers can observe and report changes according to the care plan.
- Families receive additional help managing ongoing responsibilities.
- The client receives more consistent support at home.
It is important for everyone involved to understand their individual roles. Home care caregivers do not replace nurses, therapists, physicians, or emergency medical services.
Which Type of Care Does Your Loved One Need?
Home care may be the appropriate starting point if your loved one primarily needs help with personal care, meals, housekeeping, supervision, companionship, or other daily activities.
Home health care may be necessary if your loved one needs skilled nursing, therapy, wound care, or another medical service ordered by a healthcare provider.
Your loved one may need both if medical treatment is required but they are also having difficulty managing safely between clinical visits.
If you are unsure where to begin, consider these questions:
- Does my loved one need medical treatment or rehabilitation at home?
- Do they need help with bathing, dressing, meals, or mobility?
- How safely can they manage when family members are unavailable?
- Are their needs temporary, ongoing, or likely to increase?
- Is a family caregiver becoming exhausted or overwhelmed?
- What services may be covered by insurance, long-term care benefits, or Veterans benefits?
A conversation with your loved one’s healthcare provider and a reputable home care agency can help clarify the appropriate next steps.
How Attentive Home Care Can Help
Attentive Home Care provides personalized in-home support to individuals and families throughout the Twin Cities area. We take time to understand each client’s routines, abilities, preferences, and care needs before developing an individualized plan.
Depending on the client’s assessment and care plan, services may include personal care, companionship, homemaking, respite care, meal preparation, mobility assistance, nursing services, and other appropriate support.
Our goal is to help clients remain safe, comfortable, and as independent as possible while providing families with dependable assistance and peace of mind.
If you are trying to determine what type of care your loved one needs, contact Attentive Home Care. We would be happy to discuss your situation, explain the available options, and help your family identify an appropriate next step.
This article provides general educational information and is not medical, legal, or insurance advice. Services, eligibility requirements, and insurance coverage vary based on the individual’s needs and circumstances.