Articles & Guides
Primary-source-informed guidance for home care founders, providers, and families. Browse licensing, operations, staffing, and payer topics below.
Non-Medical vs Home Health
Two different licenses explained honestly: personal care versus skilled home health, and what the Medicare decision really involves.
1 articles →
Policies & Manuals
The policy and procedure binder reviewers actually approve: architecture, starter language, and the localization pass.
1 articles →
Medicaid & Payers
How home care agencies really get paid: private pay mechanics, long-term care insurance, and the honest path into Medicaid waiver work.
1 articles →
Operations
Starting and running the agency: hiring and caregiver files, client charts, survey readiness, and day-to-day systems.
3 articles →
Licensing & Surveys
How home care and home health oversight works, which authority surveys an agency, and what to verify with the state before relying on a requirement.
2 articles →
Coverage & Authorization
Practical guidance for families and providers comparing private payment, Medicaid waivers, prior authorization, and plan-specific coverage rules.
2 articles →
Staffing & Screening
Role-specific training, background checks, personnel documentation, and the state and program sources employers should confirm before hiring aides.
2 articles →
Featured Articles by Topic
Start with the most useful articles from each topic, then dive deeper into the full knowledge base.
Non-Medical vs Home Health
Two different licenses explained honestly: personal care versus skilled home health, and what the Medicare decision really involves.
Policies & Manuals
The policy and procedure binder reviewers actually approve: architecture, starter language, and the localization pass.
Medicaid & Payers
How home care agencies really get paid: private pay mechanics, long-term care insurance, and the honest path into Medicaid waiver work.
Operations
Starting and running the agency: hiring and caregiver files, client charts, survey readiness, and day-to-day systems.
How to Start a Non-Medical Home Care Business: The Honest Path
The real sequence behind starting a non-medical home care agency: the license, the policy binder reviewers approve, hiring and files, costs, and first clients, with official links.
Electronic Visit Verification (EVV): What It Is
How Electronic Visit Verification records Medicaid-funded home visits, what information EVV captures, how state implementations differ, and which source to confirm.
Plan of Care Versus a Task List in Home Health
Understand how a clinical home health plan of care differs from a household task list, including skilled needs, ordered services, goals, documentation, and payer requirements.
Licensing & Surveys
How home care and home health oversight works, which authority surveys an agency, and what to verify with the state before relying on a requirement.
Home Care Versus Home Health: Services, Licenses, and Payers
Compare non-medical home care with clinical home health, including typical services, licensing differences, Medicare considerations, payer rules, and what to confirm locally.
Who Surveys a Home Care or Home Health Agency?
Learn how state survey agencies, licensing offices, CMS, and accreditors divide oversight—and how to identify the authority responsible for a specific agency and service type.
Coverage & Authorization
Practical guidance for families and providers comparing private payment, Medicaid waivers, prior authorization, and plan-specific coverage rules.
Private Pay Versus Medicaid Waiver: What Families Should Know
Compare private-pay home care with Medicaid HCBS waiver services, including eligibility, timing, provider availability, costs, and the questions families should ask their state.
What a Prior Authorization Actually Is
A plain-English guide to prior authorization: who submits it, what a health plan reviews, why approval is not a payment guarantee, and how to follow up or appeal.
Staffing & Screening
Role-specific training, background checks, personnel documentation, and the state and program sources employers should confirm before hiring aides.
Aide Training Hours to Confirm Locally
A role-by-role framework for confirming aide training hours with the employer, licensing authority, facility, or payer before enrolling in or paying for a course.
Background Checks for Aides: A Practical Guide
What employers and families should consider when screening home care aides, including identity, records, registries, consent, adverse-action rules, and state-specific checks.