Medicare does not pay for ongoing personal care at home. Here is what actually does: IHSS at $19.64 an hour in LA County, VA Aid and Attendance up to $2,424 a month, long term care insurance, and how families combine them.

Home care runs about $38 an hour in 2026, but the hourly rate is rarely the real question. A warm, research-informed guide to what aging at home actually costs, the hidden hours families absorb without counting them, and the quiet changes that usually come first.