Home Health Aide Indiana: What They Do, Cost, and How to Hire One

The hospital says your parent needs "home health." The insurance company mentions "home care." The neighbor recommends a "home aide." These sound interchangeable, but in Indiana they are legally distinct services with different licensing, different costs, and different funding sources. Getting the wrong one can mean paying out of pocket for services Medicaid or Medicare would have covered.

Home Health Aide vs. Home Care Aide: The Indiana Distinction

Home health aides work under licensed Home Health Agencies (HHAs) regulated by the Indiana Department of Health. They assist with clinical support tasks — vital sign monitoring, medication reminders, wound care assistance, and post-surgical recovery — under the supervision of a registered nurse. Medicare covers home health aide visits when ordered by a physician as part of a skilled care plan.

Home care aides (also called attendant care workers or personal care aides) work through Personal Services Agencies (PSAs). They help with daily living activities: bathing, dressing, toileting, meal preparation, light housekeeping, and companionship. PSAs are specifically prohibited from using the words "health" or "nursing" in their name or advertising — operating an unlicensed home health agency is a Class A misdemeanor under Indiana Code 16-27-1-15.

How to Find and Vet a Home Health Aide

Start with the IHCP Provider Locator on the Indiana Medicaid website to verify that any agency you're considering is actively enrolled as a Medicaid provider. For Medicare-certified agencies, use the CMS Care Compare tool.

Questions to ask any home health agency:

• Are you licensed as an HHA by the Indiana Department of Health?
• Are you Medicare-certified? (Required for all Indiana HHAs as of July 1, 2026)
• Do you use electronic visit verification (EVV)?
• What is your staff turnover rate?
• Can you provide references from families with similar care needs?

For home care (non-medical) agencies, verify PSA licensure and ask about their background check process. Indiana requires national criminal background checks including FBI fingerprinting for all direct care staff.

Paying for Home Health and Home Care

Medicare covers home health when your parent is homebound and needs skilled nursing or therapy services ordered by a physician. Coverage is short-term — it ends when the skilled need resolves. Medicare does not pay for ongoing non-medical personal care.

Medicaid waivers (PathWays for Aging for 60+) cover both home health and home care through the Person-Centered Service Plan. The catch: there's a statewide waitlist exceeding 11,000 people. Until your parent clears the waitlist, waiver-funded home care isn't available.

CHOICE program funds non-medical home care services with no income test and a $250,000 asset ceiling. It won't cover skilled nursing, but it bridges the gap while waiting for a waiver slot.

Private pay averages $35/hour for non-medical care and $70/hour for private-duty nursing in Indiana. A full-time (40 hours/week) private-pay home care aide runs roughly $6,000–$7,000 per month.

Building a Care Team That Works

Most families caring for an aging parent in Indiana need both types of aide at different points. The immediate post-hospital period typically requires skilled home health. Once the clinical needs stabilize, the ongoing need shifts to non-medical attendant care.

The Indiana Home Care, Waivers & Support Guide maps out how to coordinate both types of care with Medicaid waiver services, CHOICE enrollment, and family caregiver pay programs — so you're not paying privately for services the state would fund.

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