Home care vs. home health care comes down to one question: who orders it? Home care is non-medical daily support with bathing, meals, and company. Home health care is clinical medical treatment ordered by a doctor, delivered by nurses and therapy staff after an illness, injury, or hospital stay.
This guide is for Maine families deciding what a parent needs. We wrote it at Apex Home Care in Westbrook, where we provide everyday in-home help. You will learn how the two differ, who qualifies, what Medicare covers, and when families use both.
Table of Contents
What Is the Short Answer on Home Care vs. Home Health Care?
- Home care is help with activities of daily living. No doctor’s order, no end date, usually private pay.
- Home health care is doctor-prescribed skilled medical care from RNs, LPNs and therapists. It is short-term, and Medicare may cover it.
- Many families need both. Home health handles the clinical visits. Home care fills the rest of the week.
What Is Home Care, and What Does It Include?
Home care is everyday help at home that a family can arrange without a doctor’s order. It keeps someone safe at home.
What services does home care include?
Hands-on help, household support, and company:
- Bathing, dressing, and grooming, covered by our personal care service
- Meals, light housekeeping, laundry, errands, and medication reminders
- Company and safety supervision, covered by our companion care service
It does not include injections, wound care, or clinical decisions. Older adults often start with our senior care service.
Who provides home care in Maine?
Trained caregivers employed by a licensed personal care agency. Under Maine’s personal care agency law, an entity may not provide home care services without a state license.
In our experience, the license is the question families forget to ask. Ask any agency to show it, then see how our home care service fits your routine.
How long does home care last?
As long as it is needed.
What Is Home Health Care, and What Does It Include?
Home health care is skilled nursing and therapy delivered at home and prescribed by a doctor. People who search “what are home health care services” usually mean this: medically necessary treatment for an illness or injury, coordinated by a home health agency.
What services does home health care include?
Clinical treatment that needs a licensed professional. Common home health care examples:
- Wound care for a surgical incision or pressure sore
- Injections, IV therapy, and monitoring of an unstable condition
- Physical, occupational, or speech therapy after a stroke or joint replacement
- Teaching family caregivers to use equipment and do exercises
Who orders home health care?
A doctor or other health care provider, after seeing the patient in person. The provider writes the order, and a Medicare-certified home health agency delivers it under a written plan of care.
How long does home health care last?
Usually weeks, not years. Visit frequency follows the doctor’s order, visits are scheduled rather than continuous, and the goal is recovery or stability.
What Is a Home Health Aide?
A home health aide helps with walking, bathing, grooming, and feeding under a home health agency’s plan of care. Medicare covers aide visits only alongside skilled nursing or therapy.
Home Care vs Home Health Care: How Do They Compare Side by Side?
The difference between home care and home health care shows up in who orders it, who delivers it, and how long it lasts.
| Home care | Home health care | |
|---|---|---|
| Type of care | Everyday personal support | Clinical nursing and therapy |
| Who provides it | Licensed personal care agency caregivers | Home health agency nurses, therapy staff and aides |
| Doctor’s order | Not needed | Required |
| Ongoing vs short-term | Ongoing, flexible hours | Short-term, scheduled visits |
| Goal | Safety, independence, comfort | Recovery or medical stability |
| Payment | Private pay, long-term care insurance, VA benefits | Medicare or other health insurance, if you qualify |
| Examples | Bathing help, meals, companionship | Wound care, injections, physical therapy |
Our Maine home care cost guide covers private-pay rates.
Which Is Better: Home Care or Home Health Care?
Neither is better. Home health vs. home care is a question of need, not quality. Hip surgery recovery calls for therapy. Trouble bathing safely calls for a caregiver.
PCA vs HHA: What’s the Difference?
A PCA (personal care assistant) gives everyday help with no doctor’s order. An HHA (home health aide) gives similar help under a doctor’s plan of care.
The practical gap is timing. When the skilled need ends, Medicare aide coverage generally ends too. A PCA can keep coming.
What are the limits of each type?
Each one stops where the other starts. Home care cannot provide clinical treatment. Home health care is part-time, so daily help ends when the skilled need does.
Who Qualifies for Home Health Care Services?
For Original Medicare, you need a provider’s order, a part-time or intermittent skilled need, homebound status, and a Medicare-certified agency. Medicare lists these conditions on its home health services page:
- A provider sees you in person and orders the care.
- You need skilled nursing or therapy.
- You are homebound.
- A Medicare-certified agency provides it.
Homebound means leaving home takes help or a major effort because of your condition. You may still attend medical care, adult day care, or short outings. Compare certified agencies with Medicare’s Care Compare tool.
Does Medicare Cover Home Care or Home Health Care?
Medicare can cover home health care. It does not cover everyday home care when that is the only care you need.
Is home health care covered by Medicare?
Yes, if you qualify, and you pay nothing for covered home health services.
| Medicare covers | Medicare does not cover |
|---|---|
| Part-time or intermittent skilled nursing | 24-hour-a-day care at home |
| Physical, speech-language and continued occupational therapy | Home-delivered meals |
| Aide visits, only alongside skilled care | Shopping, cleaning and other homemaker services unrelated to your care plan |
| Medical equipment, with 20% owed after the Part B deductible | Custodial or personal care when it is the only care you need |
How many hours a day will Medicare pay for home health care?
In most cases, up to 8 hours a day of nursing and aide care combined, and a maximum of 28 hours a week. Medicare allows up to 35 hours a week for a short time if your provider decides it is necessary.
That is a ceiling, not a promise. Visits happen as often as the provider orders, so families often cover the remaining hours privately.
How do families pay for home care?
Most families pay privately. Some use long-term care insurance, and wartime veterans or surviving spouses may qualify for VA Aid & Attendance.
MaineCare runs its own in-home programs with its own eligibility rules, so confirm current details before you count on it.
Can You Use Both Home Care and Home Health Care?
Yes, and after a hospital stay many families do. Home care vs. home health care is rarely either/or at discharge. Visits cover wound care and therapy. A caregiver covers the hours between meals, bathing, laundry, and company. Our post-hospital care service is built for that transition.
Home health visits end. Home care continues.
In our experience, the hours between visits are the part families plan last. Ask the home health agency for four things:
- The visit schedule and expected end date, so caregiving can scale up as visits taper.
- A written list of what the aide and family may do.
- Who to call after hours with a clinical question.
- Whether the agency serves your town and how soon the first visit can start.
Share the nurse’s written instructions with the caregiver, who reminds and assists while the nurse manages treatment. For more, see post-hospital care at home in Maine, recovering at home after surgery, and family caregiver support.
Home health vs. hospice: what’s the difference?
Hospice is comfort-focused end-of-life care. Home health aims at recovery or stability.
Two doctors certify a terminal illness with six months or less to live, and the person chooses comfort care over cure. Medicare.gov explains the process.
Home Care vs Home Health Care: Which One Does Your Parent Need?
Start with the task, then match it to the type of care.
- If a nurse or therapy staff must treat a wound, give injections or rebuild strength after surgery or a strokeAsk the doctor about home health care.
- If your parent is medically stable but struggles with bathing, meals, laundry or safe eveningsHome care fits.
- If your parent is coming home from the hospitalPlan for both. Ask the discharge planner about a referral, and line up caregivers for the days between visits.
- If the doctor says the illness is terminal and comfort is the goalAsk the care team about end-of-life options.
Unsure whether your parent needs help yet? Read how to know when a parent needs in-home care or our guide to in-home care for seniors.
Why Trust This Home Care vs. Home Health Care Guide?
Conclusion
Home care vs. home health care comes down to what your parent needs today.
Home health care treats a medical problem for a limited time, and a doctor starts it.
Home care keeps bathing, meals, and company going for as long as they are needed.
After a hospital stay, most families end up using both.
When you are ready to plan the home care side, Apex Home Care is here in Westbrook.
Home Care Service
Schedules built around your parent’s day.
Personal Care
Bathing, dressing and grooming help.
Companion Care
Company and safety supervision.
Senior Care
Steady everyday help at home.
Post-Hospital Care
Daily help alongside home health visits.
Respite Care
A planned break for family caregivers.
We provide home care in Westbrook, Portland, South Portland, Scarborough, Gorham, Windham, and across Cumberland County and York County.
Still weighing home care vs home health care? Call Apex Home Care at 207-329-1626 or request a free consultation. Describe a normal day, and we will say what fits.
Ready to Talk Through Home Care vs Home Health Care?
Tell us how your days look and we will help you decide.