How Much Does Home Care Cost in South Carolina?
Straight answers about what home care costs, what Medicaid covers, and how to find out what your family would actually pay — before you ever call.
You make one call. We do the rest.
Straight Answers About Paying for Home Care
Most home care websites won't discuss cost at all — they just tell you to call. We think that's backwards. Families deserve to understand how home care is priced and what help is available before picking up the phone, so here's how it actually works in South Carolina.
The single most important thing to know: many of the families we serve pay little or nothing out of pocket, because their care is covered through South Carolina Medicaid. Before you assume home care is out of reach, let us check your eligibility — it's free, and families are surprised more often than not.
Five Ways Families Pay for Care
SC Medicaid (CLTC)
South Carolina's Community Long Term Care waiver programs cover in-home personal care, respite, and related services for eligible participants who would otherwise qualify for nursing home care. As an enrolled provider, we bill Medicaid directly.
Often $0 out of pocketPaid Family Caregiver
If a relative is already providing care, they may qualify to be hired and paid through our agency under Medicaid caregiver programs — turning unpaid caregiving into a paycheck while keeping care in the family.
Family gets paidVA Benefits
Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for Aid & Attendance, a monthly benefit on top of a VA pension that can be applied toward home care, plus VA Homemaker/Home Health Aide services.
For veteransLong-Term Care Insurance
Most long-term care policies cover licensed in-home care once the policyholder needs help with a set number of daily activities. We're glad to review your policy's home care language with you at no charge.
Check your policyPrivate Pay
Paying directly means total flexibility: any schedule, start immediately, no eligibility process, no contracts. Many families use private pay for immediate needs while a Medicaid application is processing.
Start right awayCombination Plans
Most families end up mixing sources — Medicaid covering core hours, VA benefits adding income, private pay filling gaps. We'll map out what your specific situation supports.
Most commonWhat Determines Your Cost
When care is private pay, the total depends on a handful of straightforward factors:
- Hours per week. The biggest driver by far. A few mornings a week costs a fraction of daily coverage.
- Level of care. Companion care and housekeeping are priced differently than hands-on personal care involving bathing, transfers, and toileting.
- Care model. Live-in care is typically more economical per day than 24-hour rotating shift care, since shift care staffs awake caregivers around the clock.
- Schedule type. Overnight, weekend, and holiday hours may be priced differently than standard weekday coverage.
- Specialized needs. Advanced dementia care or pediatric care requires caregivers with additional training.
Because those factors vary so much from one family's situation to the next, we don't publish a single flat rate — a quote built around a generic number would be more likely to mislead than help. What we do instead: give you an exact, written quote after understanding your specific hours and level of care, at no cost and with no obligation. Most families have that number in hand within a day of calling.
Home Care vs. Facility Care
Families often assume a nursing home is the affordable option and home care is the luxury. In practice it's frequently the reverse — especially in two situations:
- Part-time care. If your loved one needs four hours of help a day rather than round-the-clock supervision, you pay for four hours. A facility charges for a bed 24 hours a day whether or not care is being delivered.
- Married couples. Facility placement usually means paying for two residents. One live-in caregiver can support a couple in their own home — often at meaningfully lower total cost, without separating them.
Home care also preserves things that don't appear on an invoice: the house, the neighborhood, the pets, the routines, and one-on-one attention instead of one aide per hallway.
How to Find Out What You'd Actually Pay
1. Call for a free consultation
Tell us the situation. We'll talk through needs, hours, and which payment paths look promising — no cost, no obligation, no pressure.
2. We check coverage
We help determine whether your loved one qualifies for Medicaid CLTC, whether VA benefits apply, and what a long-term care policy would cover. We handle the paperwork side.
3. Free in-home assessment
We visit, evaluate safety and daily needs, and build a care plan sized to what's actually needed — not the maximum we could sell.
4. A clear written quote
You receive a plain, itemized picture of hours, services, and cost — including exactly what any coverage pays and what, if anything, you'd owe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cost depends on hours per week, level of care, and care model. Many of our clients pay little or nothing out of pocket because services are covered under South Carolina Medicaid CLTC waiver programs. Call (803) 661-9072 for a free assessment and a clear written quote for your specific situation.
Yes. South Carolina's Community Long Term Care (CLTC) waiver programs cover in-home personal care and related services for eligible participants. American Allied Health is an enrolled Medicaid provider, so we bill Medicaid directly and handle authorizations with your case manager.
Medicare covers skilled, intermittent home health — nursing or therapy ordered by a physician, usually after a hospitalization. It generally does not cover ongoing non-medical personal care like daily bathing, dressing, and meal help. Some Medicare Advantage plans include limited in-home support, so check your specific plan.
It often is, particularly for part-time care and for married couples. If your loved one needs a few hours of help a day, you pay only for those hours, while a facility charges around the clock. For couples, one live-in caregiver can frequently support both people for less than two facility placements.
No long-term contracts. Care plans can start small and scale up or down as needs change, and you can adjust or stop services. We'll discuss any scheduling minimums during your free assessment.
In many cases, yes. Under South Carolina Medicaid caregiver programs, qualifying relatives can be hired and paid through our agency for care they already provide. See our Get Paid to Care page or call (803) 661-9072 to check eligibility.
You make one call. We do the rest.
Ready to Get Started?
Call today for a free, no-obligation in-home assessment. We'll answer your questions, explain payment options including Medicaid, and build a care plan around your family.