Join Our Team Home Care Pricing in St. Louis and Chicago
Assistance Home Care is a family-owned, non-medical home care agency serving St. Louis, St. Charles and Chicago’s western suburbs since 2011. Here is what we charge, with nothing left for a sales visit. Most home care companies won’t put this on a web page. We think you deserve to see the number before you decide whether to call.
What we charge
| Program | Rate | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly home care | $43 an hour | Families who need 20 or more hours a week, back-ups guaranteed, plus access to our Care & Safety Program at no additional charge |
| CarePlus Program | $48 an hour | Families starting small between 4 hours and 20 hours a week |
| Couples care | 1.25 times the rate | One Care Professional caring for both spouses |
| Veterans Program | No cost to the veteran | Veterans referred through VA health care; the VA pays us directly |
Both hourly rates are flat. Days, nights and weekends are the same price. There is no “level of care” surcharge, no distance fee, no deposit and no contract. Overnight Care Professionals stay awake and on duty all night, at the same rate. Care can start with as little as one four-hour visit a week, which comes to $192 under the CarePlus Program rate. Holidays are billed at 1.5 times the rate, as they are across home care agencies and our Caregivers are paid 1.5 times their hourly wage as well; the complete list of observed holidays are listed in our Service Agreement.
That’s the whole rate sheet. If a number you were quoted elsewhere looks lower, the next section explains why it usually isn’t.
How home care is usually priced, and what “starting at” means
Most agencies quote a rate that “starts at” a number lower than ours. That number is real, but almost nobody pays it. Here is what gets added after you’ve said yes:
- A level-of-care rate. The agency assesses how “difficult” your parent’s care is and assigns a tier: companion, personal care, advanced. Each tier costs more per hour, the agency does the assessing, and the tier can change later.
- A distance fee. A surcharge based on how far the caregiver drives to your home. It varies by agency and by which caregiver is assigned.
- Nights, weekends and short visits. Many agencies charge more per hour after 6 p.m., on Saturdays and Sundays, and for any visit under six or eight hours.
- Minimums. Fifteen to twenty hours a week is common. Some require thirty or forty, or a minimum of four to eight hours per visit, which is why so many families wait for a crisis before they get help.
- A deposit and a commitment. Often a week or two of care paid up front, plus a notice period or minimum term before you can stop.
- Overnight “resting shifts.” Some agencies price overnights lower because the caregiver is allowed to sleep. Ask whether the person in your mother’s house at 3 a.m. will be awake.
Together, these let a company arrive at almost any number it wants, after the family is already committed. Our clients don’t like surprises, and they don’t like being nickel-and-dimed. Neither do we. So we took all of it out.
Why one flat rate
Because the number we say is the number you pay. You can budget for it. Your Care Team spends its time on your parent’s care, not on rate reviews. And nobody in our office is deciding how difficult your mother is.
The rate also pays for things that don’t fit on a rate sheet. We hire about 2 to 3% of the people who apply, pay among the highest wages in the field, and offer benefits that are rare in home care, which is why our Care Professionals stay. We answer the phone with a person, any hour. We can usually sit down with you the same day you call. And we put it in writing: if you ever feel we didn’t do a wonderful job on a given day, call within 24 hours and we’ll make it right, waiving up to 100% of that visit. We aren’t aware of another home care company that makes that promise.
There will always be a cheaper option. We’re not sure that’s what you want when it comes to your parent, and your own peace of mind. So we ask families one question: if every agency charged the same rate, who would you choose, and why? The answer is almost always the things on this page. That’s what you’re paying for.
One honest note. If private pay isn’t possible for your family, call us anyway. We’ll tell you about Medicaid home care programs, Consumer Directed Services, and your Area Agency on Aging, so you leave the call with somewhere to go.
How families pay
- Personal funds. Most families pay from savings, income, or a parent’s own resources. Some families are able to deduct part of the cost as a medical expense; your tax advisor can tell you whether that applies to you.
- Long-term care insurance. In almost all cases, policies cover non-medical care at home. We review the policy with you, file the claim, send the insurer the care logs it needs each month, and can schedule a joint call with your insurer so your questions get answered and your benefits get used.
- The VA. Assistance Home Care is an accredited VA provider. Veterans enrolled in VA health care can be referred for home care, and the VA pays us directly, at no cost to the veteran.
We don’t accept Medicare, Medicaid or Consumer Directed Services. Medicare covers short-term, doctor-ordered home health, not the everyday help this page is about; the difference is explained in our Questions Families Ask.
Get a real number for your family
Ten minutes on the phone is enough to tell you what your situation would cost, and a Discovery Visit, often the same day, is enough to tell you exactly. There’s nothing to sign and no obligation. Call any hour: Rock Hill (314) 631-1989 · St. Charles (636) 724-4357 · Ellisville (636) 200-2909 · Downers Grove (331) 260-0444.
