Home is where memories have been made, and are still being created. Keeping a parent there takes help, and help has a price.
Preferred Care at Home of MetroWest Boston doesn’t publish a price list, and that’s on purpose. The cost of home care depends on how many hours your loved one needs and what kind of help fills them.
Hours Per Week Set Most of the Bill
CareScout’s 2025 Cost of Care Survey put the national median for non-medical in-home care at $35 an hour.
That’s a national figure, and Massachusetts is a high-cost state for care, so read it as a starting point rather than a quote.
Hours are the lever you control. CareScout figured a full 44-hour week at $80,080 a year. A 7 a.m. visit for a shower and breakfast, five days a week, costs a small share of that.
We offer care from one hour to 24 hours a day. We’d rather you book the hours your loved one needs than pay for hours nobody uses.
The Level of Care Changes What You Pay
Each level of care we offer asks something different of a caregiver. The more hands-on the help, the more training it takes:
- Companion care: conversation and rides to appointments
- Homemaker care: meals and light housekeeping
- Personal care: assistance with bathing, dressing, toileting, and moving safely from bed to chair
- Dementia and Alzheimer’s care: supervision and daily activities built for memory loss
For hands-on help, we send experienced and trained caregivers, including CNA and HHA professionals.
Dementia care is a signature service of our office, and those caregivers are trained in memory care approaches and behavior management. If your loved one has a dementia diagnosis, we recommend starting with a trained caregiver rather than switching after the first hard week.
Overnight, Around-the-Clock and Holiday Hours
Nights and full days stretch budgets the most, because every hour of a 24-hour day is an hour someone is paid to be there. Our caregivers are available 24/7, including for urgent needs that come up after dark.
The two usual setups are an overnight caregiver and around-the-clock care, where someone is present through the whole day and night. Ask any agency how it staffs a 24-hour day, since that answer shapes the monthly total more than the hourly rate does.
Weekends and holidays can move the price too. Some agencies charge more on days like Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July, so get the holiday policy in writing before care starts.
Needs Change, So the Plan Should Too
One fall on an icy Natick driveway in January can turn two mornings a week into daily help.
New England winters bring short days and slick front steps, and a hospital stay often ends with a stretch of extra hours at home. Our transition care covers that stretch after discharge, and the hours can drop again once recovery is done.
For families across MetroWest, from Hopkinton to Needham, the cost of care in March may look nothing like the cost in October. We recommend a fresh look after any hospital stay or new diagnosis.
Private Pay and Long-Term Care Insurance
We accept long-term care insurance, and families without a policy pay privately. LongTermCare.gov says many long-term care policies cover help with personal care at home, such as bathing and dressing.
Many policies also pay for homemaker services like meal preparation, but only alongside that personal care, per LongTermCare.gov.
If you hold a policy, pull it from the file cabinet and find the daily benefit limit and the waiting period before benefits start. Then call the insurer before the first visit, not after the first invoice.
With private pay, you pay the agency directly, usually by the hour. It’s also the most flexible route, since nobody else signs off on the schedule.
Help for Veterans and Massachusetts Programs
Enrolled veterans who meet the clinical criteria can get in-home help through VA Homemaker and Home Health Aide Care. Aides assist with bathing and grocery shopping. The VA says a copay may apply based on service-connected disability status.
A veteran or surviving spouse who receives a VA pension may also qualify for Aid and Attendance. Per the VA, it adds a monthly payment to the pension for people who need another person’s help with daily activities like bathing.
Start with a VA social worker, who can say which program fits.
Springwell runs the state’s Home Care Program in Natick and nearby towns for people 60 or older with an assessed need. Springwell says it’s free for some older adults, while others owe a monthly co-payment based on annual gross income.
We think families should check both before spending savings, because a benefit that covers part of the week leaves fewer private hours to buy.
Questions Families Ask About Cost
Will Medicare pay for home care?
Not for ongoing personal care: Medicare.gov says Medicare won’t pay for 24-hour care at home, or for personal care when that’s the only care you need. It does cover part-time care from a home health agency for homebound people who need skilled services.
Is home care cheaper than a nursing home?
For part-time help, usually. CareScout’s 2025 survey put a private nursing home room at a national median of $355 a day. Around-the-clock care at home can approach or pass that, so compare the hours you actually need.
Why don’t you post your rates online?
A rate means little until we know the hours and the help. We don’t publish pricing, and we price your care plan after we meet your family.
Start With a Conversation in Framingham
Our office is at 945 Concord St in Framingham. Owner Brent Auslander opened it after finding his grandmother not being properly cared for in a Florida assisted living facility.
Every caregiver we send passes our 7-step screening and is matched by personality and experience. Brent puts his philosophy this way: “If you are not happy, neither are we!”
Call Preferred Care at Home of MetroWest Boston at (508) 375-7174 or request a care consultation. We’ll talk through your hours and how you’ll pay, then build a plan with a real number on it.
