Non-Medical Home Care Questions, Answered

It's for someone who needs a hand with daily life to stay in their own home, and for the family helping them. It fits a person who's slowing down and needs help with bathing and meals. It fits someone coming home after a hospital stay, someone living with dementia, or someone managing Parkinson's or COPD day to day. It also fits the family member who's been doing all of it alone and needs a break.

Yes, the two fit together. Medicare describes home health as "part-time or intermittent," so the nurse or therapist comes for a visit and then goes. In the hours between, a caregiver can help with the shower, cook lunch, wash the sheets and keep them company. Our post-hospital care page shows what that help looks like in the first weeks home.

The hospice team handles the medical side: the nursing, the medications and the care plan. Medicare's hospice booklet says a hospice nurse and doctor are on call around the clock. Still, the team visits rather than staying in the home all day, and continuous nursing at home is meant for brief periods of crisis. A caregiver from Meridian Home Care can fill some of the hours in between. That can mean bathing, fresh sheets, meals and someone to sit with your loved one through the night. Read more about our hospice and comfort support.

Only in a narrow case. Medicare's home health benefit centers on part-time skilled nursing and therapy for someone who's homebound, and a doctor has to order it. A home health aide can come for bathing or dressing, but only while the person is also getting nursing or therapy. Medicare.gov lists what it won't pay for at home. That includes 24-hour care, meal delivery, and shopping and cleaning outside the care plan. It also includes personal care when that's all a person needs. Its long-term care page adds that most health insurance, Medigap included, doesn't pay for long-term care either.

For people who qualify, it can. The federal government's LongTermCare.gov site says that, unlike Medicare, Medicaid does pay for custodial care at home. Each state sets its own rules, and there are income and asset limits to meet first. The Area Agency on Aging's help line can point you to where to start.

It might. Long-term care insurance is designed to cover personal and custodial care, including care at home. Policies usually pay a daily amount, up to a set limit, when someone needs help with things like bathing, dressing or eating. Many policies also cap how long or how much they'll pay. Call the insurance company and ask what the policy covers at home. We're happy to talk through the answers with you.

VA's Homemaker and Home Health Aide program can send an aide to a Veteran's home to help with personal care and daily activities. It's also meant for Veterans who are isolated or whose family caregiver is worn down, and it can give that caregiver a break. The aides work for organizations that have a contract with VA, and what's offered varies by location. VA also has an Aid and Attendance allowance that eligible Veterans and survivors can put toward help at home. Ask the VA what fits. Separately, Meridian Home Care offers 10% off for military, first responders and teachers, active and retired.

Arizona's Department of Economic Security runs a Family Caregiver Support Program, and respite is one of its services. There are rules. The person receiving care has to be an older adult who needs substantial help with at least two daily activities, such as bathing or dressing. Respite goes to caregivers assessed at moderate or high risk. In Maricopa County, the Area Agency on Aging, Region One runs the program locally, and its 24-hour Senior HELP LINE is 602-264-HELP. In Pinal County, the local agency is Central Arizona Aging. Ask them what you may qualify for. We're also glad to talk through respite care with you.