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Does Medicare Cover In-Home Care for Seniors?
Date Updated: January 10, 2025
Written by:
Jackie Smart is an author and freelance content writer. For the past five years, she has written on numerous subjects, especially senior living, drawing on her own experiences of researching assisted living for an elderly relative. Jackie has since written extensively on the subject, focusing on how older adults can find help accessing services and the resources and programs in place to help them finance their long-term care.
Reviewed by:
Dr. Brindusa Vanta is a health care professional, researcher, and an experienced medical writer (2000+ articles published online and several medical ebooks). She received her MD degree from “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine, Romania, and her HD diploma from OCHM – Toronto, Canada.
Medicare does not cover in-home care for seniors. As of March 2024, Medicare has 67.2 million beneficiaries, almost 90% of whom are adults aged 65 and older. Although enrollees may assume their policy will help pay for home care, the truth is that Medicare doesn’t cover nonmedical services.
What Medicare Covers
Medicare consists of separate parts, each covering different areas of health insurance.
- Part A: Hospital insurance covering inpatient care in a hospital or nursing home; also pays for some home health care services
- Part B: Medical insurance paying medically necessary and preventive services, including doctors' bills, outpatient services, lab tests, screenings, mental health services and durable medical equipment
- Part D: Coverage for prescription drugs
More than half of all Medicare enrollees also have Medicare Advantage Plans, otherwise known as Medicare Part C. Plans vary depending on the supplier and where you live. However, in addition to typically including Parts A and B, the Advantage Plan also sometimes covers:
- Hearing
- Vision
- Dental
- Mobility aids and medical devices
- Up to 100 days of skilled nursing care (though the duration of coverage varies)
- Health screening
- Emergency transportation
- Lab tests and X-rays
Why Medicare Doesn’t Cover In-Home Care
Medicare considers in-home care services, such as assistance with the activities of daily living, transportation, meal preparation and light housekeeping, as nonmedical. As a health care insurance provider, Medicare only covers medically necessary care. Although beneficiaries may receive financial assistance with some home health care services and medical devices they require, Medicare won’t cover the nonmedical services many older adults require to live on their own and maintain independence.
Other Ways to Pay For In-Home Care
With Medicare not paying for in-home care, seniors need to consider other ways to finance the care they need to remain safely in their own homes. These include:
- Medicaid and Medicaid waivers
- Personal savings
- Retirement income
- Asset sales
- Long-term care insurance
- Cash from life insurance policies
- Annuities and reverse mortgages