Homemaker Services in Philadelphia
Homemaker Services · New Century Home Care
Help with meals, laundry and the house, done the way your parent likes it
Licensed non-medical home care for Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties. Medicaid CHC or private pay. Our office speaks English, Russian and Ukrainian.
- Licensed by the PA Department of Health
- Keystone First & AmeriHealth Caritas CHC
- Relatives can be paid caregivers
- English · Русский · Українська
At a glance: Homemaker services help older adults in Pennsylvania with daily household tasks like meal preparation, laundry, and light housekeeping. Aides handle these chores so your loved one can live safely at home when they do not need full-time medical care.
- Homemaker aides assist with Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) like cooking, shopping, and laundry.
- Medicaid Community HealthChoices (CHC) covers homemaker tasks only when tied to personal care and no one else is available.
- Needing help solely with chores does not qualify someone for the CHC waiver.
- Services are non-medical; aides do not provide skilled nursing care or heavy house cleaning.
- New Century Home Care serves Philadelphia and surrounding counties.
What homemaker services include
Under Pennsylvania law, home care agencies provide non-medical assistance to help older adults remain safely in their homes. One primary type of support is assistance with Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, or IADLs. These are the daily chores, errands, and household tasks required to maintain a clean and safe living environment.
Homemaker services focus heavily on these IADLs. A trained aide handles the physical work of keeping the house organized. This allows your loved one to conserve their energy and avoid safety risks, such as carrying heavy laundry baskets down the stairs or standing on a hard kitchen floor for long periods.
We supply caregivers to handle standard household duties. These nonskilled services facilitate the consumer’s health, welfare, and ability to live independently. The table below outlines common tasks and how an aide assists.
| Task | How an aide helps |
|---|---|
| Preparing meals | Planning daily menus, cooking hot meals, packaging leftovers, and washing the pots and dishes used for meal prep. |
| Doing housework | Light cleaning, sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, wiping down kitchen and bathroom counters, and taking out the trash. |
| Doing laundry | Washing, drying, folding, and putting away clothes, as well as changing bed linens and washing bath towels. |
| Shopping | Buying groceries, picking up pharmacy items, and purchasing basic household supplies. The aide can go alone or accompany your loved one to the store. |
| Using transportation | Accompanying your loved one into the community for errands directly related to their care needs. |
Many families choose to combine homemaker tasks with companion care. This adds socialization, conversation, and emotional support to the daily routine.
What is not included
Homemaker aides do light housekeeping. Heavy cleaning (for example, moving furniture or climbing ladders) is generally outside homemaker services.
Aides also do not perform home repairs, yard work, or property maintenance. If you are unsure whether a specific household chore is allowed under Pennsylvania home care rules, ask us during your initial call.
Because New Century Home Care is a licensed non-medical agency, our staff cannot provide skilled medical care. Aides do not administer medications, give injections, manage IV lines, or perform wound care. Those tasks require a licensed nurse or physical therapist through a home health agency.
If your loved one needs hands-on physical help with bathing, shaving, grooming, or toileting, those tasks fall under personal care services rather than just homemaker assistance.
Homemaker help under Medicaid
Many families ask if Pennsylvania Medicaid pays for someone to clean the house. The answer depends entirely on your loved one’s specific approval under the Community HealthChoices (CHC) waiver.
Under the CHC waiver, homemaker tasks are considered “incidental” to Personal Assistance Services (PAS). This means the Medicaid waiver covers tasks like washing linens, cleaning bath towels, and doing dishes from meal prep only when they are tied to personal care, and only when no one else is available in the home to do them.
To get the CHC waiver, an applicant must be both financially eligible and functionally eligible. The functional eligibility determination (FED) is conducted by an assessor from the local Area Agency on Aging. In Philadelphia, this is the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA). The PCA assessor looks at cognition and physical Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) like bathing, transferring, walking, and eating.
The FED does not count a person’s need for help with meal prep, shopping, or housekeeping toward eligibility. So a person who only needs help with household chores will not qualify for the CHC waiver on that basis. Your loved one has to meet the FED criteria, for example needing hands-on help with three or more ADLs. You can read more about Medicaid eligibility rules here.
If your loved one is approved for the CHC waiver, their CHC service coordinator creates a person-centered service plan. This plan sets the exact number of PAS hours the aide can work each week.
Who it fits
Homemaker assistance fits seniors who can still manage their own physical hygiene but struggle with household upkeep. For example, your mother might bathe and dress herself safely, but she cannot stand at the stove long enough to cook a nutritious meal.
It is also a good fit for older adults managing a chronic disease or recovering from a hospital stay. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that three in four American adults have at least one chronic condition. Conditions like arthritis or heart disease can make carrying groceries or pushing a vacuum exhausting.
Seniors living with Parkinson’s disease may also benefit. The Parkinson’s Foundation notes that primary movement symptoms include slowness and balance problems. These symptoms make carrying laundry or reaching into low cabinets dangerous. Having an aide handle the heavy lifting reduces the risk of falls in the home.
Finally, hiring a homemaker gives family members a break from weekend chores. Instead of spending your Saturday cleaning your parent’s house, you can spend quality time with your relative.
Ready to schedule help at home? Call 215-974-0000 or visit our contact page. Submit the form by choosing “I am a client” and then “I need services.” Our office staff speak English, Russian, and Ukrainian.
How it is paid for in Philadelphia
Paying for senior care at home depends on your loved one’s insurance coverage and financial situation. The table below explains how different programs handle homemaker services.
| Payer | Covers this? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CHC Waiver (Medicaid) | Yes, conditionally | Covered as incidental tasks under Personal Assistance Services, if approved in the person-centered service plan. |
| Medicare | No | Medicare only covers home health aides alongside part-time skilled nursing or therapy for homebound people. It does not pay for non-medical personal care or housekeeping alone. |
| Private Pay | Yes | You pay out of pocket. You agree on a schedule with the agency directly. Rates are discussed during your initial call. |
| Veterans Affairs (VA) | Yes, for eligible veterans | Eligible veterans may get help through VA Homemaker and Home Health Aide Care or Veteran-Directed Care. Start by asking a social worker at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia. |
| Long-Term Care Insurance | Depends on policy | Some policies cover non-medical home care. You must review your specific contract to see what is included. |
Can a family member be the paid caregiver?
Yes, family members can be paid to provide care through the CHC waiver. If your loved one is approved for the waiver, they can choose to receive Personal Assistance Services through a licensed agency like New Century Home Care.
You can apply to work for the agency and be assigned to care for your relative. However, Pennsylvania rules exclude certain people from being paid for this care. The CHC waiver will not pay for services provided by the participant’s spouse, legal guardian, representative payee, or Power of Attorney (POA).
If you meet the requirements and do not hold one of those excluded roles, you can earn weekly pay and benefits. Learn more about how to get paid to care for a family member.
How to start with New Century
Setting up homemaker services involves a few straightforward steps. We serve older adults in Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties.
- Contact us: Call 215-974-0000 or fill out our online lead form. Select “I am a client” and “I need services.”
- Discuss needs: We will ask about your loved one’s daily routine, the specific household tasks they need help with, and your preferred schedule.
- Determine payment: Let us know if you plan to pay privately or use the CHC Medicaid waiver. We work with Keystone First CHC (AmeriHealth Caritas); on another plan, call us first. If you use CHC, you must tell your service coordinator that you choose New Century Home Care.
- Finalize the schedule: For private pay clients, we agree on a weekly schedule. For Medicaid clients, the CHC service coordinator sets the approved hours in the service plan.
- Meet your caregiver: We assign a worker to your home. Under Pennsylvania law, every direct care worker must pass a criminal history report, provide two satisfactory references from former employers or non-relatives, and complete a competency screening before they begin working.
If you need help keeping your loved one’s home clean and safe, call New Century Home Care at 215-974-0000. You can also submit our online form, choosing “I am a client” and “I need services” to get started today.
How to get started
- Call or send the formCall 215-974-0000 or use the form and choose “I am a client”.
- Talk through needs and paymentWe go over the help your loved one needs and how it can be paid for: Medicaid CHC, private pay, or a relative as the paid caregiver.
- Care starts at homeYour caregiver follows the schedule you agree on. For Medicaid, hours come from the CHC service plan.
Ways to pay for home care
Related home care services
Frequently asked questions
Does Medicaid pay for homemaker services in Pennsylvania?
Yes, but only under specific conditions. The Community HealthChoices (CHC) waiver covers homemaker tasks as “incidental” to Personal Assistance Services. This means chores like laundry and dishes are covered only when tied to personal care and no one else is available to do them. Needing only housekeeping will not qualify someone for the waiver.
Who sets the schedule for homemaker services?
If you pay privately out of pocket, you and the home care agency agree on a schedule that fits your needs. If you use the CHC Medicaid waiver, your CHC plan service coordinator determines the total approved hours in your person-centered service plan.
Can I choose my own caregiver in Philadelphia?
Yes. New Century Home Care will match you with a trained aide, and you have a say in who comes to your home. If the match isn’t working, call our office to talk about options.
Talk to a Philadelphia home care coordinator
Tell us what your loved one needs. We will explain the options, including Medicaid CHC and paid family caregiving.
