How much does in-home care cost in Florida?

Non-medical home care runs about $31 an hour in Florida (2026), a little below the national average of $34 to $35. Part-time care of about 40 hours a week works out to roughly $5,000 to $5,900 a month, and around-the-clock care runs about $25,000 a month.

Does Medicare pay for in-home care?

Only for short-term skilled care a doctor orders while the person is homebound, such as nursing or therapy, with an aide alongside it. Medicare does not pay for ongoing help with bathing, dressing, or meals when that is the only care needed, and it never pays for 24-hour care.

Can I be paid to care for my parent at home?

Sometimes. If your parent qualifies for Florida Medicaid long-term care, its participant-directed option lets them hire and pay their own caregiver, and that caregiver can be a family member. Ask the Elder Helpline how to start.

What if we don't qualify for Medicaid?

Call the Elder Helpline. Older Americans Act services, including in-home help, respite, and meals, are open to anyone 60 and older, often free or on a sliding fee, with no income test.

Should I hire a caregiver directly to save money?

The hourly rate is usually lower, but you take on license-checking, background screening, supervision, insurance, backup coverage, and often the payroll taxes of a household employer. Weigh the savings against that added work and risk.

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In-home aides and caregivers on the Nature Coast

In-home care lets your parent stay in their own home with help that fits the day. That help can be a companion a few hours a week, or hands-on care with bathing and dressing every day. Here's what each kind is, what it costs in Florida, who pays, and how to hire someone you can trust.

Last reviewed: August 7, 2026

The short version:

In-home help runs from a companion a few hours a week to daily hands-on care with bathing, dressing, and getting around.
Non-medical home care in Florida costs about $31 an hour (2026). Around-the-clock care runs roughly $25,000 a month.
Medicare pays only for short-term skilled care a doctor orders. It does not pay for ongoing help with bathing, dressing, or meals.
Medicaid can pay for that daily help, and its participant-directed option can even pay a family member.
Not on Medicaid? The Elder Helpline opens in-home help to anyone 60 and older, often free or on a sliding fee, with no income test.

In-home help runs from companionship (non-medical) to skilled medical care.

Common questions

How much does in-home care cost in Florida?: Non-medical home care runs about $31 an hour in Florida (2026), a little below the national average of $34 to $35. Part-time care of about 40 hours a week works out to roughly $5,000 to $5,900 a month, and around-the-clock care runs about $25,000 a month.
Does Medicare pay for in-home care?: Only for short-term skilled care a doctor orders while your parent is homebound, such as nursing or therapy, with an aide alongside it. Medicare does not pay for ongoing help with bathing, dressing, or meals when that's the only care needed, and it never pays for 24-hour care.
Can I be paid to care for my parent at home?: Sometimes, yes. If your parent qualifies for Florida Medicaid long-term care, its participant-directed option lets them hire and pay their own caregiver, and that caregiver can be a family member. Ask the Elder Helpline how to start.
What if we don't qualify for Medicaid?: Call the Elder Helpline. Older Americans Act services, including in-home help, respite, and meals, are open to anyone 60 and older, often free or on a sliding fee, with no income test.
Should I hire a caregiver directly to save money?: The hourly rate is usually lower, but you take on the license-checking, background screening, supervision, insurance, backup coverage, and, in many cases, the payroll taxes of a household employer. Weigh the savings against that added work and risk.

Not sure where to start? One free call gets your parent screened and pointed to local help: Citrus & Hernando 1-800-262-2243, Pasco 1-800-963-5337 (the Elder Helpline).

What are the types of in-home care?

People use "home care," "home health," and "aide" to mean different things. The big split is simple: non-medical care is everyday help and needs no doctor's order. Medical care is clinical work by a licensed nurse or therapist, and it does need a doctor's order.

Two terms you'll hear a lot: ADLs are the activities of daily living, the basics of self-care like bathing, dressing, using the toilet, moving from a bed to a chair, and eating. IADLs are the tasks that keep a household running, like cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, rides, and managing pills and bills.

Type of help	Medical?	What it is
Companion care	No	Company, supervision, reminders, outings, light meal prep. No hands-on body care.
Personal care aide	No	Hands-on help with bathing, dressing, the toilet, grooming, and moving around. This is the day-to-day care Medicare won't cover on its own.
Homemaker	No	Housekeeping, cooking, laundry, shopping, and errands. No body care.
Home health aide	On the line	Hands-on personal care. Medicare pays for an aide only when your parent is also getting skilled nursing or therapy.
Skilled home health	Yes	A nurse or a physical, occupational, or speech therapist. Wound care, shots, IV care, monitoring, therapy. Needs a doctor's order.

What does in-home care cost?

Non-medical home care is priced by the hour, and Florida runs a little below the national average.

How much care	Rough cost
Per hour (Florida, 2026)	About $31 an hour (national average is about $34-$35)
Part-time (about 40 hours a week)	Roughly $5,000 to $5,900 a month (an estimate from the hourly rate)
Live-in / 24-hour care	About $25,000 a month nationally (round-the-clock care uses more than one caregiver in shifts)

(Sources: CareScout / Genworth Cost of Care, 2025; A Place for Mom, 2026.) Most agencies set a shift minimum, often four hours, so a one-hour visit usually isn't an option. Rates also run higher for specialized care, nights, and holidays.

Who pays for in-home care?

This is the question that trips up most families. Here's the short version; our how to pay for care guide walks through each one.

Medicare: pays only for doctor-ordered, part-time skilled home health while your parent is homebound. It does not pay for ongoing help with bathing, dressing, or meals when that's the only need, and it never pays for 24-hour care.
Florida Medicaid long-term care: the main public payer for ongoing personal care at home. It has an income and asset limit and often a wait list. Its participant-directed option lets your parent hire and pay their own caregiver, who can be a family member.
VA: Aid & Attendance adds money to a veteran's pension to help pay for care, and the VA can arrange a home health aide directly.
Long-term-care insurance: pays for home care if the policy covers it. Check the benefit and the waiting period.
Private pay: paying out of pocket, the default when the others don't apply.
Not on Medicaid? The Older Americans Act opens in-home help, respite, and meals to anyone 60 and older through the Elder Helpline, often free or on a sliding fee, with no income test. See our guide to the Older Americans Act and the Elder Helpline.

Should you hire through an agency or on your own?

You have three ways to bring a caregiver into the home, and the choice decides who screens, supervises, insures, and backs up that caregiver, and who the tax law calls the employer.

Path	What it means
Licensed home health agency	The agency employs and supervises the caregiver, runs the background check, handles payroll taxes, and sends a backup if someone is sick. Most oversight, highest cost.
Nurse registry (licensed)	A matchmaker that refers an independent caregiver to you. By Florida law the registry can't supervise or train that caregiver, so more of that falls on you. Often lower cost, more control.
Hiring privately	You find and pay the caregiver yourself. The hourly rate is usually the lowest, but no license, no required background check, no supervision, and no backup unless you arrange it.

The tax trap to know: when you hire through an agency, the agency is the employer. When you hire privately, or in some cases through a registry, the IRS may treat you as a household employer, which means Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment taxes. Ask before you hire.

In Florida, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) licenses home health agencies and nurse registries, and registers homemaker and companion providers. A homemaker/companion registrant may clean, cook, run errands, and keep company, but cannot do bathing, the toilet, transfers, or medications. If anyone offers hands-on personal care, they must be licensed, not just registered.

How do I choose a good home care agency?

Interview two or three, and use this checklist:

Verify the license. Look the agency up on Florida's FloridaHealthFinder before you sign. A purely private caregiver won't show up there.
Background screening. Ask if every caregiver has passed a Florida Level 2 screening (a fingerprint-based state and FBI check). Agencies and registries are required to do this; a private hire is not.
Insurance and bonding. Ask for proof the agency is insured and bonded, so you're covered if something goes wrong.
Supervision and backup. Ask who supervises the caregiver and who fills in if that caregiver is sick or a poor fit.
A written care plan you help build, that the caregivers follow, and that you're told about before it changes.
Consistency. Ask how many different caregivers to expect. Fewer faces is easier on your parent.
References you actually call, plus reviews, and clear, written rates with no surprises.

Walk away from anyone who won't put terms in writing, can't show a license, or pressures you to decide fast.

Who provides in-home care in Citrus, Hernando & Pasco?

These are real agencies we confirmed from their own websites (August 2026). This list isn't complete and isn't an endorsement. Interview a couple, and check each one's license on FloridaHealthFinder before you sign.

Agency	Serves	Offers
Senior Helpers of Nature Coast Local	Citrus, Hernando & Pasco	Companion and personal care, dementia care, live-in and 24-hour care
Right at Home West Pasco Local	West Pasco (New Port Richey, Hudson, Bayonet Point) & north Pinellas	Companion, personal, and specialty care; 24-hour available
Visiting Angels Spring Hill Local	Hernando (Spring Hill, Brooksville) & Sumter	Non-medical companion and personal care
Always Near Home Care Local	Citrus (Crystal River, Inverness, Homosassa)	Non-medical companionship and meal prep
Elder-Ease Solutions Local	Citrus County	Companionship, housekeeping, errands, rides, medication reminders

The Elder Helpline can also give you a current list of licensed agencies near you, and screen your parent for programs that help pay: Citrus & Hernando 1-800-262-2243, Pasco 1-800-963-5337.

Sources

Medicare -- Home health services. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/home-health-services
CareScout (formerly Genworth) -- 2025 Cost of Care Survey. https://www.carescout.com/cost-of-care
A Place for Mom -- In-home care costs, 2026. https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/in-home-care-costs
Florida AHCA -- Home health agencies, nurse registries & homemaker/companion registration (Fla. Stat. Ch. 400, Part III). https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2023/Chapter400/PART_III
Florida AHCA -- FloridaHealthFinder license look-up. https://quality.healthfinder.fl.gov/
Florida Department of Elder Affairs -- programs & the Elder Helpline. https://elderaffairs.org/
Administration for Community Living -- Older Americans Act services (no means test). https://acl.gov/about-acl/authorizing-statutes/older-americans-act
VA -- Aid & Attendance, and Homemaker/Home Health Aide Care. https://www.va.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound/
IRS -- Hiring household employees. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/hiring-household-employees

Please read: Nature Coast Senior Home is an independent guide. We are not a government agency and are not affiliated with Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, or any company listed. This page is general information, not medical, financial, or tax advice. Prices, coverage rules, and programs change and vary by home, plan, and county. Confirm current details with the agency, your plan, or the official source before you decide. We don't collect or sell your information.