Last verified: October 2026
What is the difference between home care and home health?
Non-medical home care is help from aides with bathing, dressing, meals, housekeeping and companionship, usually paid by the hour; home health is skilled nursing and therapy ordered by a physician for a homebound patient, delivered in visits and typically covered by Medicare when criteria are met.
CMS lists 50 Medicare-certified home health agencies and 42 hospices with offices in our seven counties.
What does in-home care cost in Pennsylvania?
CareScout's 2025 survey puts Pennsylvania's median for a non-medical home caregiver at $77,792 a year for 44 hours a week, about $34 an hour, a little below the national $80,080.
At that rate, 44 hours a week costs more than Pennsylvania's assisted living median of $6,352 a month, which is why families who need more than full-time help often compare the two.
Which Pennsylvania programs help pay for care at home?
Three public programs pay for in-home help: the Department of Aging's OPTIONS program for people 60 and older (no income limit, sliding-scale co-pay, through the Area Agency on Aging), Community HealthChoices for Medicaid-eligible adults who need a nursing-facility level of care, and LIFE for people 55 and older who qualify.
Veterans may add VA pension with Aid and Attendance. Each program is explained on our costs and paying pages.
How do you choose a home care agency around Pittsburgh?
Ask how the agency screens and trains aides, whether caregivers are employees or contractors, what happens when an aide calls off, and the minimum shift length; for skilled home health, confirm Medicare certification on Care Compare.
Our home health directory lists every Medicare-certified agency in the region with its certification date and ownership.
How many home health agencies serve each county?
CMS lists Medicare-certified home health agencies with offices in Allegheny (30), Westmoreland (6), Butler (6), Washington (4) and Fayette (4) counties, and none with an office in Beaver or Armstrong, whose residents are served by agencies based in neighboring counties.
Non-medical home care agencies are not in the CMS data at all, because Medicare does not certify them.
How do you know when home care is no longer enough?
Home care usually stops being enough when help is needed at unpredictable hours or overnight, when medications must be given several times a day, or when the person is unsafe alone between visits; at that point a personal care home or, with daily skilled needs, a nursing home is often safer.
Home health vs. home care: what each is and is not
| Home health | Home care | |
|---|---|---|
| Who orders it | a physician | the family |
| Staff | nurses and therapists | aides and companions |
| Paid by | Medicare when criteria are met | private pay, OPTIONS, CHC, LIFE |
| Schedule | intermittent visits | hourly shifts |
