There are no national licensure requirements for non-medical Senior Home Care Agencies. Caregiverlist requires participating Senior Home Care Agencies to meet a Checklist of standards which industry professionals view as necessary requirements for safety and consistency in care.
Senior Home Care Agency Checklist
• Business license and necessary state licensure (if required by the state where the agency is located)
• Caregivers are “Employees” (this means the Agency is responsible for paying all employee payroll taxes, as required by law: Unemployment Insurance tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax and State and Federal with-holdings)
• Worker’s Compensation Insurance
• Professional Liability Insurance
• Fidelity Bond Insurance (this is sometimes referred to as “theft” insurance)
• Active Management of the Caregiver through a direct Supervisor or Manager
• Plan of Care
• Criminal Background Check performed on all Employees
• Training for Caregivers
• 24-Hour On-Call Service
• Satisfactory Caregiverlist Survey Results
These Checklist requirements are especially valuable when seniors are being cared for in their own home and no family members live close enough to monitor the care. By having these standards in place, if the Caregiver suffers an accident while working in the senior’s home, their injuries and care are covered by Worker’s Compensation Insurance. Active supervision of Caregivers allows the agency to professionally work through any performance issues. A 24-hour On-Call service allows for last-minute schedule changes and back-up Caregivers to be scheduled, when necessary. Training programs provide Caregivers with guidelines to follow for performing quality care duties.
In addition, the Caregiver is protected by Unemployment Insurance if they are not staffed between assignments and meet the necessary qualifications. Caregivers also have the guarantee of receiving Medicare and Social Security benefits when they retire because they have paid into these programs as an employee of the agency.
It is important to remember that “Independent Contractors” are not paid as employees and do not provide a senior the insurance protections which a Senior Home Care Agency provide and also do not provide a guarantee the appropriate taxes are being paid. This is why our Checklist requires all agencies to hire Caregivers as “employees”.
There are more than 5,000 Senior Home Care Agencies nationwide. Many times the term “Home Health Agency” is used and can be confusing because it may include both Medicare and Medicaid approved Home Care Agencies and Non-medical Senior Home Care Agencies. Non-medical Agencies hire both Companion Caregivers and Certified Nursing Aides, who assist with hands-on care for all Activities of Daily Living. Medicare-approved Home Health Agencies provide intermittent visits by a R.N., Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, and Speech Therapist, with pre-approval of these services by a Medical Doctor. These are considered “skilled” care services. Senior Home Care Agencies are referred to as “non-medical” because they are not providing services which would need to be managed by a Medical Doctor.
The Private Duty Home Care Association of America (PDHCA) is a trade association of home care providers and works towards helping Senior Home Care Agencies with all business matters to assist clients to age in place.
The National Association of Health Care Assistants is a non-profit association of Certified Nursing Aides and Health Care Assistants, providing members (anyone who works on the front-line) with experience-based, peer-driven solutions to long-term care.
Caregiverlist’s Senior Home Care Agency Checklist protects both the senior and the Caregiver to insure quality care is provided.
Connect with a Senior Home Care Agency in your area to learn about their services and pricing.
Senior Care Options
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June 19, 2012 - 12:38amThis Comment