People with low income and few assets other than their home may be eligible for Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California) healthcare coverage. This includes in-home care, which can mean some low-level healthcare monitoring and services but which usually consists mostly of personal care -- the same kind of care you probably provide: help with bathing, dressing, cooking, cleaning, eating, moving around, and similar activities of daily living.

When Medicaid provides in-home care, it usually does so through a licensed home health care agency. Medicaid pays the agency, which sends its care aides to the senior's home on scheduled visits. This arrangement works well for many people. But for others, in-home care through an agency isn't the best arrangement. Many in-home care agencies are overstretched, with high worker turnover. This can mean that in-home care visits are sometimes irregular, with changing caregivers who don't know the senior's needs and preferences. And if you (or another family member) are already providing most of the care, the occasional presence of an outsider may not be that helpful.