Two families can receive very different monthly totals for the same veteran's care. The gap usually sits in how the hours are counted and what gets billed on top of them, not in the headline hourly rate.

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.

Ask how travel time is priced

Some quotes count only the hours inside the home. Others add the time and miles it takes the aide to get there, or round a short shift up to a minimum length. Ask in writing: Is travel time billed? Is mileage billed? Is there a minimum shift length? Does a split shift count as two shifts? If the answers are not in writing, the rate is not yet comparable with anything.

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).

The other drivers of the monthly line

  • Total weekly hours, and how many of them fall in the same block each day.
  • Shift length and any minimum, which can add cost to short visits.
  • Whether evening, overnight, or weekend hours carry a different rate.
  • Whether a second person is needed for certain tasks, which doubles that part of the schedule.
  • Whether the quote covers a fixed number of hours or only the hours actually worked.
  • What is excluded from the rate, such as supplies, mileage, or time spent on paperwork.

What VA money does and does not do

A VA pension benefit is paid to the veteran, monthly. It is not an hourly reimbursement to an aide, and it does not set what any particular agency or individual charges.1 The amount depends on the veteran's countable income and asset rules. Medical expenses the veteran pays, including some care costs, can be counted against income when VA works out the benefit, but only under VA's rules and with proof.2 Keep the receipts and the written rate sheet together so the figures can be checked later.

Compare two quotes on the same hours

Put both quotes on one page with the same weekly hours, the same shift length, and the same month. Ask each provider for the total for a typical month, not only the hourly rate. Ask what is excluded. Then compare the two totals, not the two headline numbers.

For the order in which to read the rest of this briefing, see Start Here: The Order to Read.

  1. VA.gov, Aid and Attendance and Housebound benefits, pension basics.
  2. VA.gov, guidance on unreimbursed medical expenses for pension claims.