Many home care providers price by the kind of task, not only by the hour. A visit that is mostly company, meal preparation, and light housekeeping can carry one rate, while a visit that includes help with bathing, dressing, toileting, or transfers can carry another. The task list is therefore the first cost question to settle, before any hourly figure is compared.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
The usual tiers
Providers often separate companion or homemaker work from hands-on personal care. Some also charge a different line when a shift includes tasks that require more training. The names and the number of tiers vary by provider, so ask each one to show its tiers in writing and to define each task that sits inside them.
Check whether a shift can move up a tier
Ask whether a shift that starts as companion work can move into personal care mid-shift and, if so, who decides and how the family is told. Ask whether the change is billed by the hour, by the task, or as a flat step-up. A quote that looks low can rise when a shift is reclassified, so the reclassification rule matters as much as the base rate.
Medication lines stay separate
Ask how medication-related tasks are priced and who does them. A non-medical aide may give medication reminders and pick up prescriptions as an errand. Handling, sorting, or giving medicine stays with the family, the doctor, and the pharmacist. A provider whose quote blurs that line should be asked to put the scope in writing before a rate is agreed.
Do not price down the tier to fit the budget
Choosing a lower tier to save money only works if the parent's daily needs fit that tier. If bathing or dressing help is needed, a companion-only quote will not cover it, and the gap will show up as missed care rather than as a lower bill. Compare quotes against the same written task list, not against a loose description of the visit.
What it costs: The Missouri median for non-medical in-home care is $33 an hour, per the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025 state data tables, released March 2026. New Plan Care's standard rate is $34 an hour with a four-hour minimum, so a visit starts at $136 (newplancare.com/services).
[1] Task tiers and rates are set by each provider and are not sourced to VA.gov, so verify them directly with the provider. The daily-needs questions a claim asks are described on VA.gov, which is the place to check that framing. See Sources and Start Here: The Order to Read. This desk is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.