How do you pay for home care in California? While no one looks forward to the effects of aging, it’s a reality. If you’re like most people, you’d prefer to live out your final years in the comfort of your own home. In-home care can help you realize that vision.

The chances of remaining in your home, even when it’s difficult to take care of yourself, may depend on whether you can access funding to pay for in-home care in California.

It’s common for people to assume that Medicare, Medi-Cal, or private insurance will pay for in-home care.  That’s not the case—most clients pay for in-home care using their personal funds. Medicare will cover a limited number of services for home health care, but only if it’s medically necessary. Medicare doesn’t cover homemaker services and neither doo Medicare supplemental plans.

People are starting to live longer and they’re realizing that paying for home care in California is something they need to explore sooner rather than later.

Options to Pay for Home Care in California

If you’ve built senior care services into your financial planning, you have a few options for exploring home care payment options in California.  

Patient/Private Pay

Most seniors have some amount of assets and money and private pay it’s the first and most common source of funding for in-home senior care.  

Long-Term Care Insurance

If you’ve planned ahead and bought long-term care insurance, it may cover various types of senior care services like skilled nursing, assisted living, in-home care, respite, etc. depending on the policy coverage.

Even if you have it, there are different rules about what insurance companies will cover and when coverage starts. Social workers in your community or in-home care agencies will help you learn how a long-term care policy can help you.

Private Health Insurance

In better understanding how to pay for senior care services, you have to remember that health insurance is intended to cover medical needs. It doesn’t cover non-medical care services that are necessary to help with functional needs. You need to find other financial sources for that.

Medicare

You can’t count on Medicare to cover in-home care either. It won’t cover bills for private caregivers or services from a home care agency. Medicare won’t cover bills for personal caregiving needs like bathing, dressing, mobility, or other activities of daily living (ASLs). It also doesn’t cover transportation to appointments, companionship, or housekeeping.

Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California)

Medi-Cal is California’s state Medicaid program for people that don’t have private health insurance. Unlike Medicare, Medicaid does cover some types of senior care that aren’t considered skilled services. Medicare and Medicaid make it possible for many seniors to afford the services they need.

Medicaid and Medicare benefits can make the average in-home cost for senior care services within reach for many people.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation insurance also provides some coverage for senior services if you get injured at work. Your employer will review the plan’s coverage with you.

Other Ways of Paying for Home Care

If you’re still wondering, “How can I pay for home care in California?” there are a few other resources you can check into.

•   Veteran assistance through the Veteran’s Association (VA)
•   Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
•   A reverse mortgage
•   Senior nonprofit organizations like Alzheimer’s Association, the ALS Association, Easter Seals
•   Community organizations like the local Area on Aging, United Way, and area senior centers

California Home Care Cost

As you consider how to pay for home care in California, the average hourly rate for home care services in California was $26 per hour in 2019. The average assisted living care costs are also quite expensive.

The cost of senior care services in California differs significantly depending on where you live. The most affordable locations to access care are Chico, Visalia, Riverside, and Vallejo. You can expect to pay caregivers in these areas to charge between $22.50 and $24 per hour. You can expect to pay $7-$10 more per hour in Napa, San Jose, and El Centro.

In summary, there are many resources for getting appropriate funding for in-home senior care services if you know where to look.

One of the best ways home care agencies can help you is to supply expertise in finding all the resources for senior care services that might be available to you. They can also help to forecast the cost of a senior care services plan.

If you don’t have private insurance, the next places to look for senior care service funding are government benefits, community programs, long-term care insurance policies, veterans’ aid, and reverse mortgage programs.