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Quick check
Answer yes or no. You’ll see which service your answers point to, and why.
| Question | If yes | If no |
|---|---|---|
| Does your parent need a nurse or therapist for something specific, like a wound, injections, IV medicine or physical therapy? | Points to home health. Those are skilled tasks. In Connecticut, nonmedical agencies can’t do wound care, give medications or shots, or direct therapy. | Points to home care. Without a skilled need, home health usually doesn’t apply. Home care covers daily help. |
| Has a doctor ordered home health visits, or said your parent qualifies? | Points to home health. Medicare home health starts with a doctor’s order and is delivered by a Medicare-certified agency. | Points to home care. Home care needs no doctor’s order. Families arrange it directly. |
| Is leaving the house a major effort for your parent, needing another person’s help or a device? | Points to home health. That’s close to Medicare’s “homebound” rule, one of the requirements for home health. | Points to home care. If your parent gets out without much trouble, Medicare home health usually won’t apply. Home care has no homebound rule. |
| Does your parent need help with bathing, dressing, toileting or meals most days? | Points to home care. That’s everyday personal care. Medicare doesn’t pay for it when it’s the only help needed; home care is built for it. | No daily personal care needed right now. That’s worth rechecking as things change. |
| Is it unsafe for your parent to be alone for long stretches, or at night? | Points to home care. Medicare doesn’t pay for 24-hour care at home. Home care can cover nights, live-in or around-the-clock schedules. | Good. Short visits may be enough for now. |
| Do you need someone there for several hours at a time, rather than a short visit? | Points to home care. Home health is part-time or intermittent, usually short visits. Home care shifts run as long as you need. | Short visits fit both services, so this one doesn’t tip the balance. |
| Is the need tied to a recent hospital stay or a new condition expected to improve? | Points to home health. Short-term skilled care often follows a hospital stay. Many families add home care for the hours between visits. | Points to home care. Ongoing, long-term help with daily life is what home care is for. |
| Is the main need company, housekeeping, errands or medication reminders? | Points to home care. All of these are nonmedical tasks a home care aide can do in Connecticut (reminders only, never giving medications). | Then the medical and personal-care answers above matter more. |
This sorts services, not health needs. For medical questions, ask your parent’s doctor. Sources: Medicare.gov home health coverage, CT Department of Consumer Protection.
Home care and home health care are used interchangeably in everyday conversation, but they are fundamentally different services with different providers, different payers, and different purposes. Confusing the two leads families to expect coverage they won’t receive, or to look for services in the wrong place. This article explains the distinction clearly and which type applies to most Connecticut families caring for a senior at home.
Home health care is a medical service provided by licensed professionals (registered nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists) in the patient’s home following a qualifying medical event. It is time-limited, goal-oriented, and often covered by Medicare or Medicaid.
A patient discharged from the hospital with a wound requiring clinical management, or recovering from a stroke and needing physical therapy to regain function, may qualify for home health care visits. These visits are ordered by a physician and coordinated through a Medicare-certified home health agency. They end when the clinical goal is met or when the patient plateaus.
Home care, also called private-duty home care or non-medical home care, is the ongoing, daily assistance that most families actually need: help with bathing, dressing, meal preparation, medication reminders, companionship, errands, and household tasks. It is not provided by licensed medical professionals and is not covered by Medicare.
For what private duty care includes in Connecticut, schedules from a 4-hour visit to around the clock, and costs, see our guide to private duty home care in Connecticut.
Home care is typically paid for privately by families, through long-term care insurance, or through state programs like Connecticut’s CHCPE for qualifying seniors. It does not require a physician order, does not have a clinical endpoint, and can begin within 24 to 48 hours of a family’s first call.
Families who mistake home care for home health care often delay getting non-medical support because they’re waiting for insurance coverage that will never apply. They may also dismiss home care as unnecessary because they’ve been told their parent doesn’t ‘qualify’, when private-pay home care has no clinical eligibility requirements at all.
The distinction has direct, practical consequences for planning and decision-making. Knowing which type of service you need, and who provides it, is the starting point for getting the right help in place.
If you’re not sure which type of service your family needs, our care team can help you sort it out. No pressure, no obligation. Call (475) 264-4830 or book a free consultation.
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Many families need both types of service simultaneously. A parent recovering from a hip replacement may receive skilled nursing visits and physical therapy covered by Medicare (home health care), while also needing daily help with bathing, dressing, and meal preparation that Medicare won’t cover (home care). These services complement each other.
Coordinating both is a normal part of post-hospital recovery planning in Connecticut. The home health agency handles the clinical services; a private-pay home care agency like Private Duty Aides handles the daily support that makes recovery actually work at home.
Related Reading
Post-hospital recovery care → Personal care in Connecticut → Medicare and home care in Connecticut → CT senior care resources →
Talk to our care team
Book a Free Consultation (475) 264-4830
Does Medicare cover home care in Connecticut? +
Medicare covers home health care: skilled nursing and therapy services provided after a qualifying medical event. It does not cover ongoing non-medical home care such as bathing assistance, companion care, or meal preparation. This distinction is important and frequently misunderstood.
Does Private Duty Aides provide home health care? +
No. Private Duty Aides provides non-medical home care: companion care, personal care, dementia care, respite care, and related services. We do not provide skilled nursing or therapy services. If your family needs both types, we can help you understand how to coordinate them.
Can home care and home health care happen at the same time? +
Yes, and they frequently do. A patient receiving Medicare-covered physical therapy visits can simultaneously have a private-pay caregiver helping with daily personal care. The two services operate independently and serve different needs.
Why families choose us
Every aide is trained and supervised by a nurse-founded team, and we stay involved long after the first shift.
Personality fit matters more than skill on paper. We match for temperament, pace, and patience.
No franchise rotation. You work with the people who run this agency: direct, accessible, accountable.
Most families are matched with a caregiver within 24 to 48 hours. When something shifts at home, we move quickly.
We build a daily structure around your parent’s rhythm (meals, walks, evenings) and protect it.
You hear from us, not just the aide. Updates on appetite, sleep, mood, and mobility: the things that matter.
Every caregiver clears a multi-step screening (background check, reference checks, and an in-person interview with our RN founder) before they're ever placed in a home.
Why families trust us
Private Duty Aides is nurse-founded. Every caregiver clears a multi-step screening (a background check, reference checks, and an in-person interview with our RN founder) before they are ever placed in a home. We match each caregiver personally and work to keep the same caregiver with your family whenever we can.
No sales pressure. We'll tell you straight if we're not a fit.
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