Care at home
A caregiver who comes to the house — for a few hours a week or around the clock — so your parent can stay where they are.
This is probably the right level when
Your parent wants to stay at home, the house is safe enough, and the help they need fits into set hours.
What it costs
Roughly $30 to $40 an hour in Colorado. Around $5,000 a month for 40 hours a week; live-in care costs considerably more.
What it is
An agency sends caregivers to the house. They help with bathing and dressing, meals, medication reminders, shopping, laundry and company. Some agencies also provide nursing visits.
In Colorado these agencies are licensed as home care agencies, separately from residential communities. They are not in our community search, which lists residential care.
The arithmetic families get wrong
A few hours a day at home is usually cheaper than moving. Around-the-clock care at home is usually far more expensive than assisted living — often twice the price.
So the question is not “home or a community”, it is how many hours are really needed. Write down the hours honestly, multiply by the hourly rate, and compare.
Where it stops working
Nights are the usual limit. If someone needs help at three in the morning, paying for a waking caregiver every night rarely makes sense.
The other limit is the caregiver at home. Home care that only works because a daughter fills every gap is not a plan that holds.
Questions worth asking on a tour
- Will it be the same caregiver each time, and what happens when they are away?
- What is the minimum number of hours per visit?
- Are your caregivers employed by you, screened and insured?
- What can your caregivers not do — medication, lifting, medical tasks?
- How quickly can hours be increased if my parent gets worse?
How families pay for it
- Usually private pay, by the hour.
- Health First Colorado covers some home care for people who qualify, through its waiver programs.
- Long-term care insurance often covers home care — check whether the policy pays for an agency only, or also a family caregiver.
- VA Aid & Attendance can help veterans and surviving spouses pay for care at home.