Is a Home Care Organization the same as home health?

No. Home health is skilled care. A Home Care Organization provides nonmedical personal care. They bill differently.

Can the same person be IHSS and private agency?

Ask both the county and the agency. Timesheets and private invoices must stay honest and separate. Do not double-bill the same hour.

Where do I check a license?

CDSS Home Care Services and the California Home Care Registry on this family of sites. Ask the agency to show the number.

ChecklistsPrintable checklist

Printable checklist

Questions to Ask a Home Care Agency in California

Updated September 16, 2026. Reviewed September 16, 2026 against public CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, VA, and CareScout 2025 California tables. County wages, hours, and wait times still change. Official .gov pages decide.

A printable list of questions for licensed California Home Care Organizations: license, who employs the caregiver, backup, billing, and how private hours sit next to IHSS.

Based on public CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, VA, and California Department of Insurance pages retrieved 2026-09-16. County, Medi-Cal, Medicare, VA, and insurer staff decide what actually pays. Hourly rates, hour totals, waiver slots, and wait times are local and change.

Short answer

Ask whether the organization is a licensed Home Care Organization, who employs and supervises the caregiver, what happens if a shift is missed, how billing works, and how they keep private hours separate from any IHSS timesheet. Confirm the license. California Home Help also publishes a registry from open licensing data.

Who decides

Community Care Licensing licenses Home Care Organizations. The agency sets private-pay terms. County IHSS staff still decide public hours. This list is not a ranking.

What to do next

Print these questions, confirm the license number, and keep IHSS paperwork on a separate track if Medi-Cal may apply.

License and who is in the house

What is your Home Care Organization license number, and may I see it?
Are the caregivers your employees, or are they independent contractors I would supervise alone?
How do you run background checks, and what do you share with families?
Can we meet the regular caregiver before the first shift?
What languages can you staff, including Spanish?

Coverage and backups

What happens if the caregiver is sick tomorrow morning?
Do you cover nights, weekends, and two-person assists?
Is there a minimum shift length?
How do you handle last-minute cancellations, yours or ours?
Who do I call at 9 p.m. if someone does not arrive?

Money, without pretending this is IHSS

What is the hourly or shift rate for the tasks we described, and what changes that rate?
What is billed besides caregiver time (intake, overtime, holidays, mileage)?
How do invoices look, and when are they due?
Do you bill long-term care insurance, and who files that claim?
This is private pay. Confirm you are not describing it as a Medicare custodial benefit.

IHSS and other programs in the same home

Have you worked in homes that also have IHSS? How do you keep hours separate?
Will your caregiver ever complete IHSS timesheets? If not, who will?
If we enroll a family member as the IHSS provider, how do your shifts sit beside that?
Do you participate in any county contracted IHSS model, or is this private pay only?

License first, story second

CDSS Home Care Services explains licensing. The California Home Care Registry lists organizations from open data. A warm phone call is not a license.

Private home care can sit next to IHSS. It does not replace the county assessment. Read private pay home care and cost of home care for planning medians, then ask this agency for its number.

Questions people ask

Is a Home Care Organization the same as home health?: No. Home health is skilled care. A Home Care Organization provides nonmedical personal care. They bill differently.
Can the same person be IHSS and private agency?: Ask both the county and the agency. Timesheets and private invoices must stay honest and separate. Do not double-bill the same hour.
Where do I check a license?: CDSS Home Care Services and the California Home Care Registry on this family of sites. Ask the agency to show the number.

Official sources for this page

Official program pages: CDSS: In-Home Supportive Services, CDSS: IHSS for children, County IHSS offices, CDSS: IHSS providers, CDSS: county IHSS wage rates, CDSS: provider orientation, CDSS: Electronic Visit Verification, CDSS: Electronic Services Portal, DHCS: Medi-Cal, Apply for Medi-Cal, BenefitsCal, CDSS: hearing requests, CDSS: forms catalog, CDSS: IHSS overtime and workweek, DDS: regional centers.