Education
Home health vs. home care
They sound alike but they're different services with different teams, costs, and oversight. Here's the plain-English difference.
Non-medical home care
- Help with daily living — bathing, dressing, meals
- Companionship and supervision
- Light housekeeping and errands
- Delivered by personal care aides or companions
- Typically private-pay or long-term-care insurance
Skilled home health
- Licensed medical care — nursing, therapy
- Vital-sign monitoring, wound care, injections
- Often prescribed by a doctor
- Delivered by a licensed home-health agency
- May be covered by insurance or Medicaid when eligible
A home-care license is not Medicare certification or Medicaid network participation. We reference Pennsylvania licensing records and show license status and verification dates where available, but we never conflate these.