What is the difference between an employment agency, a home care agency (also known as private duty home care), and a home health agency?
An employment agency will send a caregiver to your home and charge a set finders or matching fee. The caregiver then becomes the family’s employee. A private duty home care agency provides only non-medical home care – helping with the activities of daily living necessary to maintain independence at home. The caregiver is employed by the home care agency which provides supervision, training and scheduling. A home health agency primarily provides nurses – skilled medical care, reimbursable under the federal Medicare program. (Medicare provides health insurance for those over 65 years of age). A private duty home care agency provides non-medical in-home assistance for private pay clients. It does not accept Medicare because a private duty agency does not perform medical care. In addition, private duty agencies will only rarely be Medicaid providers. (Medicaid provides health or long-term care programs for low income seniors). Private duty home care agencies do generally accept long-term c
