A quote tells you what someone hopes to charge. A signed agreement tells you what you have agreed to, and most of the trouble in a private caregiving arrangement comes from the gap between those two papers. This guide covers the caregiver agreement, the paper that sets the hours, the replacement rule, and who the employer is. Read it before the first shift, not after the first missed one.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

The quote is not the agreement

A rate sheet, an estimate, or a phone quote describes a starting point. Compare any two quotes line by line, using the same hours, the same definition of overnight, and the same first-week terms. A quote that looks lower may have a longer minimum shift or a billing unit that adds up faster. Ask for the full agreement in writing before you sign anything or pay a deposit.

Five lines to read first

  • The billing unit and the minimum. Find out whether you are charged by the hour, by the visit, or at an overnight rate, and what the minimum shift length is.
  • The replacement rule. Find out how long it takes for a substitute to arrive when the usual caregiver is out, whether you must approve the substitute, and whether the replacement is billed at the same rate.
  • The employer. Find out whether the agency or the individual caregiver is the employer, and what that means for taxes, insurance, and whom you call if someone is injured in the house.
  • The cancellation line. Find out the notice required to cancel a shift, what it costs, and how you end the agreement altogether.
  • The task list. Find out whether the agreement names the non-medical tasks the caregiver will do, and whether it says medicine stays with the family, the doctor, and the pharmacist, with the caregiver limited to reminders and pickup errands.

Ask about screening and licensing

Ask what the agency checks before a caregiver enters the house, including background checks and training, and ask for the answer in writing. Ask whether the agency holds any state license, and what that license covers, if it holds one. A license does not guarantee any particular caregiver, but it tells you which rules the agency has agreed to follow, and you should know those rules before you sign.

Keep the hospice paper and the private paper apart

The hospice visit schedule and a private caregiver agreement are two separate papers, and neither replaces the other. Hospice covers the visits the team plans, and the private agreement covers the hours you buy from the agency. Keep the two in separate folders, and when a question comes up, check which paper answers it. Mixing them up is an easy way to assume a visit is covered when it is not.

Before you sign

Ask for the agreement in writing, read the five lines above against it, and ask the agency to answer any blank line before you sign. Ask whether the agreement can be changed, and how. Put the signed copy in the same folder as your measurement sheets and handoff notes, so the answers are in one place when the next question comes up. The sources for what this guide relies on are listed on Sources, and How We Write explains how the pages on this site are prepared.