Two Agency Types Sell Similar Hours: Compare the Service Each One Is Built to Deliver

Two agencies can both send a person to the house and still sell different things. One may deliver skilled visits ordered by a clinician and billed to a health program. The other may sell private-duty hours of personal help paid by the family. Comparing them by the hourly figure alone skips the question that matters, which is what service is actually being bought.

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.

Name the service before you compare prices

Ask each agency to describe its service in writing: skilled visits, personal care, companion hours, or a mix. Ask who orders the visits, who supervises the aide, and whether the agency's staff can change the plan when Dad's needs change. A quote for companion hours is not comparable to a quote for personal care, and a visit ordered by a clinician is not the same as a standing shift.

Ask how the agency gets paid

A VA pension or Aid and Attendance award is paid to the veteran, not to the agency.¹ Ask whether the agency expects the family to pay privately, whether it bills any health program for visits, and which program that is. Which program pays for skilled visits is a separate question this desk does not footnote, so ask the agency to name it in writing. If the agency bills any program, ask for the written statement of what it covers and what it does not. Do not sign an agreement that leaves the family unsure who owes what.

A short comparison checklist

Put each agency on the same sheet and check these rows: the service named in writing, the supervisor's name and how to reach that person, what happens when a scheduled visit does not come, who answers the phone after hours, how a change in the plan is requested and confirmed, and what the written agreement says about ending the service. Treat any row the agency will not fill in as the answer.

Keep the claim help separate

An agency that offers help with the VA claim is offering a different service from the free help described on the Local Help page, and the fee rules can differ. Keep the care contract and the claim paperwork in separate folders so each one answers its own questions.² Free accredited help in St. Louis is listed on the Local Help page.

Footnotes

¹ VA.gov, Veterans Pension Benefits, payment of benefits to the veteran.
² VA.gov, accredited representatives and the rules on fees for claim help.