The following questions/answers have been developed to assist persons who need information about
in-home services.
1. Where can I (or a family member) get In-Home Aide Service in North Carolina?
2. Can I get help from public funding to pay for the service?
3. Can I pay for the service privately or from insurance?
4. Will Medicare cover this type of care?
5. What can an In-Home Aide do for me?
6. How much service can I get? When is it available? Can I get 24 hour or live in care?
7. How much does the service cost?
8. Can a family member become a person's In-Home Aide?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Where can I (or a family member) get In-Home Aide Service in North Carolina?
The NC Division of Facility Services, the state agency responsible for licensing and monitoring home care
agencies, maintains a directory of the home health, home care and hospice agencies. You might also want
to consult the Home Care/Hospice Agency Locater of the National Association for Home Care for agencies in
other parts of the country as well as NC.
This service is provided by a variety of organizations in each county. They may be private for profit, private
non-profit and public agencies. Examples are home health and home care agencies, councils or
departments of aging, departments of social services, and hospitals. They are frequently listed under "Home
Health Services" in the Yellow Pages of your telephone book. Or you may call your local senior center,
council or department of aging, department of social services, vocational rehabilitation office or area mental
health agency to get assistance in finding the most appropriate resource for you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Can I get help from public funding to pay for the service?
If a person needs personal care and is eligible for Medicaid, he may qualify for licensed home care services
(Personal Care Services/PCS), funded by Medicaid. If a person is eligible for Medicaid and has been
accepted into one of the state's Community Alternative Programs (CAP), s/he may be able to receive the
service under Medicaid funding.
If a person is aged 60+, does not qualify for Medicaid programs, and needs the service, it may be available
from local agencies using funding from the Home and Community Care Block Grant (HCCBG). You may want
to begin by checking the Aging Services Directory. The Division of Aging's contact persons for in-home aide
services can give further assistance, as can the Area Agencies on Aging.
If a person is under age 60, is not eligible for Medicaid programs, and needs the service, it may be available
under the Social Services Block Grant/State In-Home Fund through your county department of social
services.
If a person of any age has a developmental disability or mental impairment, and needs the service, the local
Area Mental Health Agency can provide more information about service availability.
If a person is legally blind and needs the service, contact the state or regional office of the Division of
Services for the Blind or the Social Worker for the Blind in the county department of social services for more
information.
If a person needs or is receiving services from Vocational Rehabilitation and needs care in the home or
community, ask for information about the service as part of the Independent Living Program from the
appropriate local office.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Can I pay for the service privately or from insurance?
The cost of agency provided service may be covered privately by the individual or family. A very limited
number of insurance policies help to cover this cost. If the person is assessed to be in need of the service
and is eligible under certain types of public funding (such as Medicaid, Medicare, and other types of federal,
state, or county resources), this funding may pay, or help pay for the service. For some types of funding
there are waiting lists.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Will Medicare cover this type of care?
Only in very limited situations, such as a brief period directly following an acute care hospitalization, does
Medicare cover this service. You may also want to review the responses of the Center for
Medicare-Medicaid Services to frequently asked questions about Medicare and home care. You can also
contact the Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program in the Department of Insurance, 1-800-443-9354
or in the Raleigh area at 919-733-0111 and speak with a counselor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. What can an In-Home Aide do for me?
Depending on your particular needs and assuming you can no longer do these things for yourself, the aide
can provide assistance with home management tasks such as: cooking, cleaning your immediate living area,
laundry, shopping, bill paying and reminding you to take your medications. If you have lost all or part of your
ability do your own personal care, the aide can help you with tasks such as: dressing, grooming, bathing,
toileting and moving from place to place. If you have become forgetful, the aide can also assist you with both
the home management and personal care tasks by reminding you and assisting you with them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. How much service can I get? When is it available? Can I get 24 hour or live in care?
The amount of service you receive will depend primarily on how much service you need (within limits), and,
almost as importantly, on how much funding is available from private or public resources. Usual amounts of
service received range from 1 to 2 hours once or twice a week to 8 hours per day 5 to 7 days per week.
Usually, agency service provision is available from 8 to 5 on weekdays; some agencies also offer "after
hours" and weekend care. Twenty-four hour care is almost never available from an agency since it would
cost more than nursing home care. Any "live in" care would need to be arranged privately; however, most
aides prefer to reside in their own homes and need time off from constant care giving.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. How much does the service cost?
Currently the average real cost of the service provided by an agency runs about $12 to $15 per hour. This
includes the wages received by the aide, any benefits provided, and the cost of supervision and related
expenses of the agency to provide the service. If aide service is purchased privately by a person/family from
an individual, the cost would be less ($6-10/hour), but the person or family would be responsible for hiring,
firing, paying, and supervising the aide, as well as overseeing the quality of care.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Can a family member become a person's In-Home Aide?
In some limited situations a family member may be paid as a person's aide. Currently, under most funding
sources, a family member would need to be hired by an agency providing aide services and would need to
meet all the training and competency testing requirements of any other aide. This agency would have to be
willing to hire the family member. Some agencies choose not to use family members as paid service
providers at all.
Sometimes it is not in the best interest of either the person needing help or the family member for that
person to be the paid aide. He/she may have care responsibilities outside the paid period, and the care
giving stress can become too great. Often a person's care needs are best met by a combination of unpaid
care by family and friends and by unrelated paid caregivers.
Two programs, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and Services for the Blind (DSB), provide the aide service by
making funds available to the person needing care so that he/she can hire his own aide. In these situations
the aide may or may not be a family member. The local Social Workers for the Blind have offices within the
county departments of social services.
in-home services.
1. Where can I (or a family member) get In-Home Aide Service in North Carolina?
2. Can I get help from public funding to pay for the service?
3. Can I pay for the service privately or from insurance?
4. Will Medicare cover this type of care?
5. What can an In-Home Aide do for me?
6. How much service can I get? When is it available? Can I get 24 hour or live in care?
7. How much does the service cost?
8. Can a family member become a person's In-Home Aide?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Where can I (or a family member) get In-Home Aide Service in North Carolina?
The NC Division of Facility Services, the state agency responsible for licensing and monitoring home care
agencies, maintains a directory of the home health, home care and hospice agencies. You might also want
to consult the Home Care/Hospice Agency Locater of the National Association for Home Care for agencies in
other parts of the country as well as NC.
This service is provided by a variety of organizations in each county. They may be private for profit, private
non-profit and public agencies. Examples are home health and home care agencies, councils or
departments of aging, departments of social services, and hospitals. They are frequently listed under "Home
Health Services" in the Yellow Pages of your telephone book. Or you may call your local senior center,
council or department of aging, department of social services, vocational rehabilitation office or area mental
health agency to get assistance in finding the most appropriate resource for you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Can I get help from public funding to pay for the service?
If a person needs personal care and is eligible for Medicaid, he may qualify for licensed home care services
(Personal Care Services/PCS), funded by Medicaid. If a person is eligible for Medicaid and has been
accepted into one of the state's Community Alternative Programs (CAP), s/he may be able to receive the
service under Medicaid funding.
If a person is aged 60+, does not qualify for Medicaid programs, and needs the service, it may be available
from local agencies using funding from the Home and Community Care Block Grant (HCCBG). You may want
to begin by checking the Aging Services Directory. The Division of Aging's contact persons for in-home aide
services can give further assistance, as can the Area Agencies on Aging.
If a person is under age 60, is not eligible for Medicaid programs, and needs the service, it may be available
under the Social Services Block Grant/State In-Home Fund through your county department of social
services.
If a person of any age has a developmental disability or mental impairment, and needs the service, the local
Area Mental Health Agency can provide more information about service availability.
If a person is legally blind and needs the service, contact the state or regional office of the Division of
Services for the Blind or the Social Worker for the Blind in the county department of social services for more
information.
If a person needs or is receiving services from Vocational Rehabilitation and needs care in the home or
community, ask for information about the service as part of the Independent Living Program from the
appropriate local office.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Can I pay for the service privately or from insurance?
The cost of agency provided service may be covered privately by the individual or family. A very limited
number of insurance policies help to cover this cost. If the person is assessed to be in need of the service
and is eligible under certain types of public funding (such as Medicaid, Medicare, and other types of federal,
state, or county resources), this funding may pay, or help pay for the service. For some types of funding
there are waiting lists.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Will Medicare cover this type of care?
Only in very limited situations, such as a brief period directly following an acute care hospitalization, does
Medicare cover this service. You may also want to review the responses of the Center for
Medicare-Medicaid Services to frequently asked questions about Medicare and home care. You can also
contact the Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program in the Department of Insurance, 1-800-443-9354
or in the Raleigh area at 919-733-0111 and speak with a counselor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. What can an In-Home Aide do for me?
Depending on your particular needs and assuming you can no longer do these things for yourself, the aide
can provide assistance with home management tasks such as: cooking, cleaning your immediate living area,
laundry, shopping, bill paying and reminding you to take your medications. If you have lost all or part of your
ability do your own personal care, the aide can help you with tasks such as: dressing, grooming, bathing,
toileting and moving from place to place. If you have become forgetful, the aide can also assist you with both
the home management and personal care tasks by reminding you and assisting you with them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. How much service can I get? When is it available? Can I get 24 hour or live in care?
The amount of service you receive will depend primarily on how much service you need (within limits), and,
almost as importantly, on how much funding is available from private or public resources. Usual amounts of
service received range from 1 to 2 hours once or twice a week to 8 hours per day 5 to 7 days per week.
Usually, agency service provision is available from 8 to 5 on weekdays; some agencies also offer "after
hours" and weekend care. Twenty-four hour care is almost never available from an agency since it would
cost more than nursing home care. Any "live in" care would need to be arranged privately; however, most
aides prefer to reside in their own homes and need time off from constant care giving.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. How much does the service cost?
Currently the average real cost of the service provided by an agency runs about $12 to $15 per hour. This
includes the wages received by the aide, any benefits provided, and the cost of supervision and related
expenses of the agency to provide the service. If aide service is purchased privately by a person/family from
an individual, the cost would be less ($6-10/hour), but the person or family would be responsible for hiring,
firing, paying, and supervising the aide, as well as overseeing the quality of care.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Can a family member become a person's In-Home Aide?
In some limited situations a family member may be paid as a person's aide. Currently, under most funding
sources, a family member would need to be hired by an agency providing aide services and would need to
meet all the training and competency testing requirements of any other aide. This agency would have to be
willing to hire the family member. Some agencies choose not to use family members as paid service
providers at all.
Sometimes it is not in the best interest of either the person needing help or the family member for that
person to be the paid aide. He/she may have care responsibilities outside the paid period, and the care
giving stress can become too great. Often a person's care needs are best met by a combination of unpaid
care by family and friends and by unrelated paid caregivers.
Two programs, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and Services for the Blind (DSB), provide the aide service by
making funds available to the person needing care so that he/she can hire his own aide. In these situations
the aide may or may not be a family member. The local Social Workers for the Blind have offices within the
county departments of social services.
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