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Medicare covers home health care, but not home care. That distinction, which sounds like a technicality, is one of the most consequential things a Connecticut family can understand before making care decisions. This article explains exactly what Medicare does and doesn’t cover, what Connecticut’s state programs offer, what private-pay home care costs in Connecticut, and how families typically bridge the gap.
Medicare’s home health benefit covers part-time or intermittent skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy at home, provided by a Medicare-certified home health agency. No prior hospital stay is required. To qualify, your parent must be homebound, must need part-time or intermittent skilled care, and must have a doctor or nurse practitioner see them in person and order the care. Covered home health services cost $0.
Sometimes, with strict limits. Medicare covers a part-time home health aide (help with bathing, grooming, walking, and feeding) only while your parent is also receiving skilled nursing or therapy. Skilled nursing and aide time combined must stay under 8 hours a day and 28 or fewer hours a week (up to 35 hours, reviewed case by case). When the skilled care ends, aide coverage ends with it.
What Medicare does not cover is 24-hour care, homemaker services like shopping and cleaning, meal delivery, or personal care such as bathing and dressing when that’s the only care your parent needs. That ongoing, non-medical help (bathing, dressing, meals, medication reminders, companionship, supervision) is what most families actually need. The confusion comes from both kinds of service being called “home care” in everyday conversation. They are separate benefits under separate payment systems.
Medigap and Medicare Advantage: Medigap (supplement) policies don’t cover long-term custodial care. Some Medicare Advantage plans offer limited in-home support as an extra benefit; check your plan’s Evidence of Coverage for exact hours and conditions.
The services Medicare doesn’t cover (personal care, companion care, dementia supervision, 24-hour oversight) are the ones families spend the most time and emotional energy trying to arrange. These are also the services that most directly determine whether a senior can remain at home or must transition to a facility.
Medicare’s gap is significant enough that most Connecticut families who need ongoing in-home support must arrange and pay for it privately, navigate state programs, or use long-term care insurance if they have it.
Connecticut offers the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE), a state-funded program for income-eligible seniors that covers some in-home services. CHCPE is a meaningful resource for qualifying families, but it is income and asset tested, waiting lists exist for some services, and it does not serve higher-income households.
For families who don’t qualify for CHCPE, or who need services beyond what the program covers, private-pay home care is the primary option. The program also covers a more limited range of services than a full-service private agency provides.
Our care team answers coverage questions every day. If you’re not sure what applies to your family’s situation, book a free consultation. We’ll give you honest guidance.
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The Connecticut market median for non-medical home care is about $36 per hour (CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey). Typical ranges run roughly $36–42/hour for companion care, $40–50/hour for personal care, and $50–70/hour for specialized dementia or high-acuity care. Live-in and 24-hour care are usually priced at daily or weekly rates. Pricing varies by agency, care complexity, and location within the state. See our full Connecticut home care cost guide for details.
For context: assisted living in Connecticut has a median of roughly $6,700–7,700 per month, and memory care a median of about $8,300 per month. For clients whose primary needs are non-medical, private-pay home care frequently provides better one-on-one attention than facility care at comparable or lower monthly cost, while allowing the client to remain in their own home.
If your parent has a long-term care insurance policy, whether it pays for non-medical home care depends on the policy; only your insurer can tell you. Ask about the home care benefit, the daily or monthly maximum, and the elimination period.
If the policy is a Connecticut Partnership policy, every dollar it pays in benefits also protects a dollar of assets if your parent later needs Medicaid. Partnership policies must offer home and community-based care options. Questions: CT Partnership for Long-Term Care, 1-800-547-3443.
Private Duty Aides can work with families who are navigating LTC insurance claims and can provide the documentation most policies require.
Related Reading
Medicare vs. Medicaid for home care → How to pay for home care in Connecticut: 7 options → Home care services in Connecticut → 24-hour home care → Live-in care → CT senior care resources →
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Does Medicaid cover home care in Connecticut? +
Connecticut’s Medicaid program includes the CHCPE waiver for income-eligible seniors, which covers some in-home services. Standard Medicaid does not cover private-pay home care agencies. Families navigating Medicaid eligibility should consult a Connecticut elder law attorney.
Does Private Duty Aides accept Medicare or Medicaid? +
Private Duty Aides is a private-pay agency. We do not bill Medicare or Medicaid. We serve families who are paying privately, using long-term care insurance, or using other non-government funding sources.
How do I find out if my parent qualifies for CHCPE? +
CHCPE eligibility is administered through Connecticut’s Department of Social Services. You can initiate an assessment by calling 1-800-445-5394 or visiting the DSS website. Our care team can also help you understand whether CHCPE is likely to apply to your family’s situation.
Sources: Medicare.gov: Home health services · CMS Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Ch. 7 §50.7 (part-time or intermittent limits) · CT DSS: CHCPE · CT OPM: Partnership for Long-Term Care FAQ · CareScout Cost of Care Survey. This page is general information, not benefits or legal advice.
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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