The names sound almost interchangeable, but they mean genuinely different things. Home care is custodial help with daily life. Home health is licensed medical care delivered at home, ordered by a physician. The distinction affects both what's provided and how it's paid for.
Home care covers non-medical help with daily life — bathing, dressing, meal preparation, light housekeeping, transportation, medication reminders, and companionship. It's typically provided by a caregiver or home care aide, hired privately or through an agency (see Private Caregiver vs. Agency), and is almost always paid out of pocket. See How Much Does In-Home Care Cost? for real hourly numbers.
Home health is licensed medical care delivered in the home — skilled nursing visits, physical or occupational therapy, wound care, medication management by a nurse, or monitoring following a hospital stay. It requires a physician's order and is typically time-limited and tied to a specific medical need, not ongoing daily assistance. Because it's medical care, it's the piece of in-home support that Medicare may partially cover under specific conditions — unlike custodial home care, which Medicare generally does not cover.
A note on this page: This is general information, not medical advice, and it can't determine whether your specific parent qualifies for home health or needs a clinical evaluation. Eligibility and coverage rules vary by insurance plan, state, and provider — confirm current details directly with Medicare, your parent's insurer, or a home health agency.
Talk to your parent's physician about a home health referral if you're noticing:
Generally, Medicare does not cover ongoing non-medical home care. It may cover home health under specific conditions — typically requiring a physician's order, a homebound status, and a need for skilled, intermittent care. Coverage rules are specific enough to confirm directly with Medicare or a home health provider.
Yes. It's common for a family to arrange private-pay home care for daily custodial help while a separate home health agency provides periodic clinical visits ordered by a doctor. They serve different needs and often run alongside each other.
A physician has to order home health services and certify that the clinical criteria are met. A home health agency can help determine whether your parent likely qualifies, but the physician's order is what actually authorizes it.
Compare custodial home care costs against every other option, or see how families typically pay for the clinical side.