California Home Help

Compare

When IHSS, private home care, home health, or assisted living fits

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.

Adult children usually need a comparison before a tour or a county form. These pages put public IHSS, licensed private home care, skilled home health, and assisted living next to each other using CDSS, DHCS, CMS, and Medicare.gov language. Cost medians live on /costs/compare. The care-path tool is the interactive fork. This hub does not pick a vendor.

Education only. No invented IHSS wages, hour totals, or wait times. CareScout statewide medians on the cost pages are planning estimates, not quotes. 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.

Ask for help navigating paperworkEn español

IHSS vs private home care

County-authorized Medi-Cal personal care versus a licensed home care organization you hire. Different employers, different invoices.

Compare IHSS and private care

Home care vs assisted living

Staying in a home you choose with help versus moving into a licensed residential community. IHSS generally does not follow that bed.

Compare home and assisted living

Home health vs home care

Skilled, usually time-limited clinical visits versus everyday personal care. Families often need both tracks after a hospital stay.

Compare home health and home care

See if IHSS may apply

A coordinator can walk through Medi-Cal, county forms, and the home visit with you. The county still decides eligibility and hours.

For example: starting an IHSS application, provider enrollment, or county forms. Keep medical records and diagnoses for the county packet.

Also on this site

Cost comparison matrix

CareScout 2025 California statewide medians across settings. Planning only. Not an IHSS paycheck.

Open /costs/compare

Care-path tool

An interactive fork: IHSS, agency, assisted living, memory care, or a facility.

Open the care-path

Who pays

Yes-or-no Medicare, Medi-Cal, VA, and insurance pages.

Open /pay

Glossary

Short definitions of IHSS, home health, assisted living, and custodial care.

Open the glossary

Questions people ask

Is this a ranking of agencies or communities?
No. These are setting and program comparisons. Look up licenses. Tour in person. The county still decides IHSS.
Where are the dollar amounts?
Private-pay planning medians are on /costs/compare, cited from CareScout 2025 statewide figures. IHSS wages are county-specific on CDSS pages. We do not invent either here.
Can someone use more than one option?
Often. Skilled home health can sit next to IHSS. Private hours can sit next to IHSS. Assisted living is a different home. Keep invoices and timesheets separate.

Official sources

Official California sources

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.

Ask for help navigating care for a parent

Share a few details if you want help organizing IHSS paperwork so a parent can stay home. This form is for follow-up contact, not an eligibility decision. Your county IHSS office and Medi-Cal decide the case.

  • A coordinator follows up
  • County decides eligibility
  • You can stop anytime
  • Educational help

For example: starting an IHSS application, provider enrollment, or county forms. Keep medical records and diagnoses for the county packet.