Home health is skilled, doctor-ordered care that Medicare covers; home care is non-medical help with daily life that Medicare will not pay for when it is the only care a person needs. In Arizona the two sound alike but follow different rules about who can provide the care and who pays.

This guide draws the line between them. The label decides which provider can deliver the care, which Arizona license that provider holds, and which program pays the bill. Getting it right is how a family avoids paying out of pocket for care a program would have covered, or waiting on Medicare coverage that was never going to come.

In This Guide

Home Care vs. Home Health in Arizona: The Core Difference

The split is medical versus non-medical, and in Arizona it settles three things at once: who provides the care, which license that provider holds, and which program pays.

Home health is skilled care. A doctor or other allowed practitioner orders it because the person has a medical need that requires a licensed professional: a nurse, or a physical, occupational, or speech therapist. Wound care after surgery, IV medication, injections a patient cannot manage alone, therapy to rebuild strength after a stroke or a fall: those are skilled needs. The care is part-time and intermittent, not round-the-clock.

Home care is non-medical help. Much of what this care covers is help with the activities of daily living: bathing, dressing, getting to the bathroom, preparing meals, light housekeeping, and supervision. The person can be medically stable and still need this help every day. In Arizona this is delivered as attendant care, personal care, and homemaker services.

The same person often needs both. Someone discharged after hip surgery might get home health (a nurse and a physical therapist for a few weeks) and also need home care (an attendant for bathing and meals for months). The two run on separate tracks with separate payers, and arranging two services through two programs at once is a real load on a family that is also managing a recovery. Knowing which track is which before you start making calls is what keeps it manageable.

Home Health: The Medicare-Certified Home Health Agency

Skilled home health in Arizona is delivered by a Home Health Agency that ADHS licenses through its Bureau of Medical Facilities Licensing; for Medicare to pay, the agency must also be Medicare-certified. The agency employs the clinical staff, registered nurses and therapists, who carry out the plan of care a doctor or allowed practitioner has ordered. Because the care is skilled and physician-ordered, a certified Home Health Agency can bill Medicare for covered services.

Medicare's home health benefit covers this Home Health Agency care when a beneficiary meets the conditions., The two that trip families up most:

  • Homebound. Leaving home takes help (a cane, walker, wheelchair, or another person) or isn't recommended because of the person's condition, and the person is normally unable to leave, with leaving taking a lot of effort. Homebound doesn't mean never going out; trips for medical treatment and short, infrequent outings such as attending religious services are allowed.
  • Intermittent skilled need. A physician or allowed practitioner certifies that the person needs skilled nursing or therapy on a part-time or intermittent basis, under a plan of care a physician or allowed practitioner reviews, and the care comes from a Medicare-certified agency. Under federal rules, "part-time or intermittent" generally means combined skilled nursing and home health aide services of less than 8 hours a day and 28 or fewer hours a week.

When those conditions are met, Medicare pays for the covered skilled services: the nursing visits, the therapy, the medical social services, and the home health aide help that is attached to that skilled care. What Medicare home health will not do is staff an aide in the home for general daily help with no skilled-care purpose. That is home care, and it is the next section.

Home Care: ALTCS Attendant Care and Private Pay

Non-medical home care in Arizona is the everyday help that keeps someone safe and supported at home: attendant care, personal care, homemaker services, and supervision. It is not skilled medical care, so it does not run through a Medicare-certified Home Health Agency, and the payer picture looks different.

Who pays for non-medical home care comes down to a few routes:

  • Private pay. Many families pay out of pocket, by the hour. This is the default when no one qualifies for a public program and the need is non-medical.
  • ALTCS. For Arizonans who qualify, the Arizona Long Term Care System, Arizona's Medicaid program for long-term care, covers in-home Direct Care Services: attendant care, personal care, and homemaker services. Those services are provided by Direct Care Workers, who can include family members as paid caregivers. ALTCS is run by Arizona's Medicaid agency, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), so that is where a family starts.
  • Long-term care insurance. A private policy, if the person holds one, may reimburse home care hours.

One line is worth stating plainly. Medicare does not pay for non-medical home care when that is the only care a person needs. A family expecting Medicare to cover an attendant for daily help, with no skilled nursing or therapy alongside it, will find it will not, no matter how much that help is needed. The ways to pay for home care are private funds, long-term care insurance, or, for eligible low-income Arizonans, ALTCS.

How ALTCS Eligibility Works

ALTCS is not income-only. To qualify, an applicant has to clear two separate gates.

  • Functional need. AHCCCS assesses whether the person needs a nursing-facility level of care, the threshold ALTCS sets for long-term-care coverage. A member who meets it does not have to live in a nursing home: services can be provided at home or in a community-based setting, and many ALTCS members live in their own homes or an assisted living facility and receive in-home services there.
  • Financial limits. For 2026, the ALTCS gross monthly income limit is $2,982 for an individual (300% of the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit rate), and the federal SSI resource (asset) standard for 2026 is $2,000 for an individual. ALTCS's own resource test is set by AHCCCS policy, so confirm the asset limit with AHCCCS when applying. An applicant whose income runs over the limit can still qualify using a special income-only trust. For a married applicant, federal 2026 standards protect between $32,532 and $162,660 in resources for a spouse who stays in the community; AHCCCS policy sets where Arizona falls in that range.

Both gates are checked during the ALTCS application, which runs through AHCCCS.

Home Care vs. Home Health in Arizona: Which One Do You Need?

Start with the need, not the brochure. The table maps the two services across the dimensions that decide who provides the care and who pays.

Home Health (Home Health Agency) Non-Medical Home Care
What it is Skilled, practitioner-ordered medical care: nursing, therapy, medical social services, and home health aide care tied to that skilled need Everyday non-medical help: attendant care, personal care, homemaking, supervision, and companionship
Who provides it A Home Health Agency and its clinical staff Direct care workers (attendants and personal-care aides), including family members as paid caregivers
Licensed / certified by ADHS-licensed; Medicare-certified to bill Medicare Funded through ALTCS direct care services for eligible members; private agencies serve private-pay clients
Who pays Medicare (when homebound + intermittent skilled need) Private pay, long-term care insurance, or ALTCS for eligible Arizonans

A quick way to place a situation: if a doctor or allowed practitioner has ordered skilled care and the person is homebound, you are looking at home health from a Home Health Agency, and Medicare is the payer to check first. If the need is ongoing help with everyday tasks and there is no skilled medical component, you are looking at non-medical home care, and the question becomes whether to pay privately or qualify through ALTCS. Plenty of families arrange both at once.

What It Costs in Arizona

Home health, when Medicare covers it, generally costs the beneficiary nothing for the covered home health services; durable medical equipment is the exception, where the beneficiary pays 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible., The cost question really lives on the home care side, where families pay out of pocket unless ALTCS covers it.

For non-medical home care, the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey reports a single "non-medical caregiver" category (the survey merged the former homemaker and home-health-aide lines). Its Arizona median is $38 an hour, which the survey annualizes to $86,944 a year assuming 44 hours of care a week, against a national median of $35 an hour and $80,080 a year; Arizona ranks 17th highest of the 50 states in that category. That is an industry-survey median, not a government rate and not a maximum, so what a specific Arizona agency charges can land above or below it; CareScout cautions that the cost of care can vary widely depending on where care is delivered. A family using fewer hours than the full-week assumption will pay less than the annual figure suggests.

For Arizonans who qualify for ALTCS, that private cost can be covered instead through ALTCS as attendant care, personal care, and homemaker services.

How to Start in Arizona

Two different services mean two different starting points.

  • For home health, ask the discharging physician or hospital to order it and recommend a Medicare-certified Home Health Agency; Medicare picks up the covered skilled care once the homebound and intermittent-skilled conditions are met. To confirm an agency is properly licensed in Arizona, check the ADHS medical-facilities licensing directory at azdhs.gov/licensing/medical-facilities.
  • For non-medical home care, decide between private pay and ALTCS. To apply for ALTCS or check eligibility, start with AHCCCS at azahcccs.gov/Members/GetCovered/Categories/ALTCS; AHCCCS handles both the nursing-facility level-of-care assessment and the financial review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Medicare pay for home care in Arizona?

Not on its own. Medicare does not pay for non-medical home care, the help with bathing, dressing, meals, and supervision that an attendant provides, when that is the only care a person needs. Medicare's home health benefit covers skilled, practitioner-ordered care (nursing and therapy) from a Home Health Agency for people who are homebound and need it on an intermittent basis. For non-medical home care, the options are private pay, long-term care insurance, or, for eligible low-income Arizonans, ALTCS.

What is the difference between home care and home health?

Home health is skilled medical care a doctor or allowed practitioner orders and a licensed clinician delivers, covered by Medicare when the person is homebound and needs intermittent skilled care. Non-medical home care is everyday help with daily living that Medicare does not cover when it is the only care needed. In Arizona, home health comes from an ADHS-licensed, Medicare-certified Home Health Agency, while non-medical home care is delivered by direct care workers and, for eligible people, funded through ALTCS.

What is ALTCS attendant care?

Attendant care is one of the direct care services the Arizona Long Term Care System funds for eligible members: hands-on help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and mobility, along with related personal care and homemaker support. Those services are provided by Direct Care Workers, who can include family members as paid caregivers. Eligibility runs through ALTCS, Arizona's Medicaid program for long-term care.

Is a home health agency in Arizona licensed by the state?

Yes. A Home Health Agency that provides skilled home health in Arizona is licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services and, to bill Medicare, must also be Medicare-certified. That licensing and certification is what separates a skilled Home Health Agency from a provider of non-medical home care.

Can someone get both home health and home care at the same time?

Yes, and many do. A person recovering from surgery might receive Medicare-covered Home Health Agency care (a nurse and a therapist for a set period) while also needing ongoing non-medical home care (an attendant for bathing and meals). The two run on separate tracks with separate payers, so arranging one does not arrange or pay for the other, and it is normal to feel stretched lining up both. Taking them as two distinct tasks, with two distinct payers, makes the work more manageable.

Learn More

Care TypesHome Care vs. Home Health by State: What's the Difference and Who PaysHome care is non-medical help; home health is skilled, doctor-ordered care. See what each costs, who pays (Medicare vs. Medicaid), and your state's guide. Care TypesAssisted Living in ArizonaAssisted living in Arizona runs about $6,250/month. What an Assisted Living Facility is, Arizona's three care levels, whether ALTCS pays, and how to vet one. Care TypesNursing Homes in ArizonaNursing homes in Arizona in 2026: what a skilled nursing facility costs, how to check a facility's quality, and how ALTCS Medicaid pays for nursing-home care. Care TypesMemory Care in ArizonaMemory care in Arizona centers on directed-care assisted living. See what the state memory-care training law requires, what it costs, and how to vet a place. MedicaidMedicaid Planning StrategiesSee which assets you keep, how the 5-year look-back works, and the legal moves that qualify you for Medicaid long-term care without losing the house. CaregiverCaregiver Burnout: Signs and SupportHow to recognize caregiver burnout, why it happens, and what actually helps, from respite care to evidence-based programs like REACH II and Powerful Tools.

Find personalized help arranging care at home in Arizona at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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