New Orleans Senior AdvisorWhat kinds of in-home care are available in Louisiana?
Three kinds: skilled home health from a licensed home health agency under a doctor's order, non-medical personal care and homemaker help from licensed home and community-based services providers, and adult day health care at a licensed center.
LDH's October 2026 report lists 32 licensed home health agencies, 22 hospices and 10 adult day health care centers with addresses in the six parishes; agencies routinely serve clients beyond their office parish.
What does home care cost in Louisiana?
Non-medical home care had a 2025 Louisiana median of $59,488 a year for 44 hours a week, about $26 an hour, after an 18% rise from 2024.
| Paid hours per week | Monthly home care at $26/hour | Versus assisted living median ($5,163) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | $1,127 | less |
| 20 | $2,253 | less |
| 30 | $3,380 | less |
| 40 | $4,507 | less |
| 44 | $4,957 | less |
| 50 | $5,633 | more |
| 60 | $6,760 | more |
| 84 | $9,464 | more |
| 168 | $18,928 | more |
Who pays for in-home care?
Medicare pays for intermittent skilled home health for homebound patients; Louisiana Medicaid's LT-PCS and Community Choices Waiver pay for personal care for people who qualify; PACE Greater New Orleans provides it in its service area; and families pay privately for the rest.
See LT-PCS and the Community Choices Waiver.
What should we ask a home care agency?
Ask how it screens and trains caregivers, how it covers a worker's sick day, whether it accepts Medicaid programs, what the minimum shift is, and what its emergency plan is for clients during a hurricane.
Licensed providers must plan for emergencies; ask to see how that plan applies to your parent.
When does in-home care stop being enough?
In-home care usually stops being enough when help is needed at unpredictable times around the clock, when the family caregiver can no longer cover the gaps, or when a parent cannot evacuate safely before a storm.
At that point families compare an ARCP, which keeps awake staff on duty at all times, with a nursing home for people who need continuous nursing.
Is adult day health care a form of in-home care?
It is a complement to it: the participant spends the day at a licensed center and the evening at home, which can replace many paid caregiver hours at about $88 a day at Louisiana's 2025 median.
LDH's October 2026 report lists 10 licensed adult day health care centers in the six parishes, 6 of them in Orleans Parish.
Where is in-home care licensed across the New Orleans area?
Here is how LDH's October 2026 roster distributes in-home care across the six parishes; agencies have no capacity figure.
| Parish | Licenses | Licensed capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Orleans Parish | 4 | 0 |
| Jefferson Parish | 18 | 0 |
| St. Tammany Parish | 10 | 0 |
| St. Bernard Parish | 0 | 0 |
| Plaquemines Parish | 0 | 0 |
| St. Charles Parish | 0 | 0 |
At a glance
| In-home care in Louisiana is | In-home care in Louisiana is not | |
|---|---|---|
| Licenses | LDH home health and home and community-based services licenses | Required for every companion |
| Medicare | Pays for skilled home health only | Pays for hourly aides |
| Public help | LT-PCS, the CCW and PACE for eligible adults | Unlimited or immediate |
