Private Home Care in New Brunswick: Costs, Agencies, and the Worker Shortage

When the Department of Social Development's subsidized home support hours are not enough — or when the waitlist for services is longer than your parent can safely wait — private home care agencies fill the gap. But the cost is substantial, agency availability varies dramatically by region, and New Brunswick's ongoing personal support worker shortage means you may not find the hours you need regardless of budget.

What Private Home Care Costs

Private home care agencies in New Brunswick typically charge between $28 and $45 per hour depending on the level of care, the agency, and the region. Basic companion or homemaking services sit at the lower end. Personal support (bathing, dressing, mobility assistance) falls in the middle. Specialized care — dementia supervision, palliative support, or overnight stays — commands the higher rates.

For context, the province's standard contracted agency rate for subsidized home support is $30.09 per hour. Private-pay rates are often comparable or slightly higher because agencies set their own pricing for non-government clients.

The math becomes critical at higher care levels. A parent requiring 8 hours of daily private care at $35 per hour spends approximately $8,400 per month. At 12 hours daily, that climbs to roughly $12,600. Compare this to the nursing home co-payment cap of $113 per day (approximately $3,437 per month, income-tested), and the financial crossover point between home care and facility care becomes clear. For parents requiring more than about 4 to 6 hours of daily private care, facility placement is often the more sustainable option financially.

Finding Agencies

The major private home care agencies operating in New Brunswick include Bayshore HealthCare, Kindred Home Care, Aviora Healthcare, and Integrity Home Health Services, among smaller regional operators. Coverage is concentrated in the Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton corridors. Rural areas — particularly the Acadian Peninsula (Zone 6), Restigouche (Zone 5), and parts of the upper Saint John River Valley — have significantly fewer options.

When evaluating an agency:

• Confirm they are licensed and carry liability insurance
• Ask about their staff screening process (criminal record checks, reference verification)
• Clarify cancellation policies — some agencies charge for shifts cancelled with less than 24 hours notice
• Determine whether the same workers will attend your parent consistently, or whether staff rotate. Consistency matters enormously for parents with cognitive decline
• Ask about minimum shift lengths — many agencies require a 3 or 4-hour minimum per visit

The Worker Shortage Reality

New Brunswick faces a severe shortage of personal support workers, and the situation is worse in rural regions. This shortage affects both public and private systems: the Department of Social Development often cannot fill all approved home support hours because contracted agencies lack the staff to deliver them.

For families, this creates a gap between what is approved on paper and what is actually available. Your parent may be assessed and approved for 20 hours of weekly home support, but the assigned agency may only be able to staff 12 of those hours. The remaining hours go unfilled.

Three strategies to work within this constraint:

The Self-Managed Support option. If you qualify for subsidized home support, the Department of Social Development's Self-Managed Support (SMS) program lets you hire your own caregiver directly — including non-resident family members — instead of going through a contracted agency. You receive a monthly lump sum based on assessed care hours and manage the arrangement yourself. This bypasses the agency staffing bottleneck entirely.

Private hiring. Some families hire personal support workers directly, outside of any agency. This is legal but requires you to manage payroll, CPP/EI contributions, workers' compensation coverage, and liability. The hourly rate is typically lower than agency rates ($18 to $25 per hour) because there is no agency overhead, but the administrative burden and liability exposure are real.

Blended approach. Use the subsidized public hours for baseline personal care during the week, and supplement with private agency hours for evenings, weekends, or specific high-need periods. This stretches the budget while maintaining coverage.

When Private Home Care Is Not Enough

If your parent's needs exceed what private agencies can staff or what your family can afford, it is time to request a reassessment through the Department of Social Development for a higher care level. A Level 3 or 4 assessment opens the pathway to nursing home placement, where the co-payment is income-tested and capped — eliminating the open-ended cost exposure of private home care.

Our New Brunswick Elder Care Guide covers the full cost comparison between home care and facility care, the Self-Managed Support application process, and the financial assessment formulas that determine your parent's subsidized contribution rate.

See more New Brunswick guides →