Home health and home care

What is the difference between home health and home care?

Home health is skilled nursing and therapy at home ordered by a doctor for a homebound patient and usually paid by Medicare, while home care is non-medical help with bathing, dressing, meals, housekeeping and companionship, usually paid privately; both are licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

CMS lists 24 Medicare-certified home health agency offices and 9 hospice offices in the three counties, most of them in Allentown and Bethlehem; agencies serve clients well beyond their office address.

What does home care cost in the Lehigh Valley?

No local figure is published; CareScout's 2025 Pennsylvania median is $77,792 a year for 44 hours a week of non-medical home care, about $34 an hour, and agencies often require a minimum shift of several hours.

Above roughly 43 hours a week, paid home care usually costs more than the Pennsylvania assisted living median.

Who pays for home care besides the family?

OPTIONS through the Area Agency on Aging (sliding-scale), Community HealthChoices and LIFE for those who meet the nursing facility level of care, VA programs for eligible veterans, and long-term care insurance can all pay for home care.

Medicare does not pay for ongoing non-medical home care.

How do we choose a home care agency?

Ask for the agency's Department of Health license, how it screens, trains and supervises aides, whether aides are employees or registry contractors, how it covers missed shifts, and what its minimum hours and rates are.

Registries match families with independent caregivers, which can cost less but leave more of the employer's responsibilities with the family.

Can home care visit a personal care home resident?

Yes: home health agencies regularly visit residents of personal care homes for skilled nursing and therapy, and some families hire private aides for extra one-on-one time, though the home's staff remain responsible for the support plan.

Ask the home how it coordinates with outside agencies and whether private aides must follow its policies on training and background checks.

How much home care does Medicare cover after a hospital stay?

Medicare covers intermittent skilled visits, typically a few nurse or therapist visits a week plus limited aide time, for as long as the patient is homebound and needs skilled care under a doctor's plan; it never covers full-time or overnight aides.

The visits usually taper as the patient improves. Line up private help or OPTIONS services before the Medicare visits end.

How many home health and home care providers are in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties?

Here is how the state and CMS records distribute home health and home care between the three counties; agencies have no bed count.