Omid Saatsaz
Founder, Red Hill Home Care
"Home care" and "home health care" sound almost identical, and a lot of families end up calling the wrong kind of provider simply because of the name. The distinction actually matters a lot for what you'll get, who provides it, and how it's paid for.
Home Care (Non-Medical)
This is what Red Hill provides: help with the activities of daily living that let someone stay safe and independent at home, but aren't medical treatment. That includes personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming, mobility), companionship, light housekeeping, meal preparation, and transportation. Red Hill is private pay — transparent hourly/daily/live-in rates, with no physician's order or insurance pre-authorization needed to start.
Home Health Care (Medical)
Home health care is a clinical, medical service — things like skilled nursing, physical/occupational/speech therapy, wound care, or medication management delivered in the home, usually after a hospital stay, surgery, or new diagnosis. It requires a physician's order, is typically time-limited (tied to a specific recovery or treatment plan rather than ongoing), and is billed through Medicare, Medicaid, or private health insurance rather than paid out of pocket.
Which One Do You Need?
If the main need is help with daily tasks, supervision, companionship, or giving a family caregiver a break — that's home care. If the need involves a medical condition requiring a nurse or therapist, a recent hospital discharge, or a physician-directed treatment plan, that's home health care, and often the hospital or discharge planner will set that up directly. Many families actually need both at different points, or even both at once — home health handling the medical side, home care handling everyday support.
If you're not sure which category your situation falls into, call us — even if the answer turns out to be "you need home health, not us," we'd rather point you in the right direction than have you spend days confused about where to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone need both home care and home health care at the same time?
Yes, often at different points — home health handling a medical recovery (like post-surgery wound care) while home care handles everyday support like meals, companionship, and mobility help, sometimes both in the same week.
Does insurance cover home care the way it covers home health care?
Generally no. Home health care is typically billed through Medicare, Medicaid, or private health insurance because it's a medical service. Home care is non-medical, so it's usually private pay, though some families use LTC insurance or government waiver programs alongside it.
Who decides whether I need home care or home health care?
Often a hospital discharge planner or your doctor will direct you toward home health if there's a medical need. If it's more about daily living support without a medical trigger, that's home care, and you can start that conversation directly with an agency.
About Omid Saatsaz
Founder, Red Hill Home Care
Omid founded Red Hill Home Care after watching his grandfather receive home care firsthand, and after a close family friend with disabilities struggled to get the daily support they needed. Before starting Red Hill, he spent several years consulting for home care agencies on operations, marketing, and M&A, and three years at Medtronic in Irvine, CA working on neurovascular stroke-prevention devices (aneurysm treatment and blood clot retrieval). He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly Pomona (2016).