Home Care Costs in South Carolina: 2026 Planning Guide
Prepared by From The Heart Home Care, LLC Care Coordination Team
Scope reviewed by: From The Heart Home Care, LLC
Content updated: August 10, 2026
Read our care-guide review standards
Direct answer: The cost of non-medical home care depends on the hourly or shift rate quoted by the agency, the number of scheduled care hours, minimum visit requirements, location, timing, transportation expectations, and the type of daily assistance requested. From The Heart Home Care does not publish a one-size-fits-all rate on this page because a responsible quote requires a care and scheduling review.
For national context only, CareScout’s 2025 Cost of Care Survey reports a $35 national median hourly rate for a non-medical caregiver. That figure is a national research benchmark—not a South Carolina median, not a From The Heart Home Care rate, and not a quote for your family. Local prices and individual care plans may be higher or lower.
What Kind of Care Is This Guide About?
This guide addresses non-medical home care: practical assistance that helps a person remain safe, comfortable, and supported at home. Depending on an assessment and written service plan, support may include personal care, companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, laundry, routine mobility assistance, medication reminders, errands, transportation coordination, respite, and help maintaining familiar daily routines.
Home care is not automatically the same as Medicare-certified home health care. Medicare uses separate eligibility and coverage rules for qualifying part-time or intermittent skilled services delivered by a Medicare-certified home health agency.
Non-Medical Scope Limits
From The Heart Home Care provides non-medical home care. Our caregivers do not replace physicians, nurses, therapists, hospice professionals, emergency services, or other licensed clinical providers.
- No diagnosis, medical advice, or clinical treatment
- No skilled nursing, injections, IV therapy, or wound care
- No medication prescribing, changes, or administration
- No physical, occupational, or speech therapy
- No clinical monitoring or disease management
- No emergency response in place of calling 911
When a person needs both non-medical support and clinical care, the roles should be separated and documented. A licensed clinical provider remains responsible for clinical services and instructions.
A Simple Home-Care Cost Formula
Once an agency gives you a written hourly quote and confirms the schedule, use these planning formulas:
- Estimated weekly cost = quoted hourly rate × scheduled hours per week
- Estimated monthly cost = estimated weekly cost × 52 ÷ 12
- Estimated annual cost = estimated weekly cost × 52
The formula is a starting point, not a final invoice. Ask whether minimum visits, overnight arrangements, holidays, transportation, schedule changes, cancellations, or other agreed services affect the written quote.
National-Benchmark Planning Examples
The examples below use CareScout’s 2025 national median of $35 per hour only to demonstrate the formula. They are not From The Heart Home Care prices, South Carolina market quotes, promises of availability, or recommendations for a particular schedule.
| Illustrative schedule | Weekly calculation | Approximate monthly planning figure | Annual planning figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 hours per week | 10 × $35 = $350 | $350 × 52 ÷ 12 = about $1,517 | $18,200 |
| 20 hours per week | 20 × $35 = $700 | $700 × 52 ÷ 12 = about $3,033 | $36,400 |
| 44 hours per week | 44 × $35 = $1,540 | $1,540 × 52 ÷ 12 = about $6,673 | $80,080 |
CareScout bases its published 2025 annual national figure for non-medical caregiver services on 44 hours per week for 52 weeks. Your family may need fewer or more hours, and an agency’s local quote may differ from the national median.
What Can Change a Home-Care Quote?
- Hours and frequency: The number of visits, visit length, days per week, and total scheduled hours.
- Timing: Daytime, overnight, weekend, holiday, split-shift, or changing schedules may be handled differently.
- Location: The exact ZIP code, travel distance, and current caregiver availability can affect whether a schedule can be staffed.
- Requested tasks: Personal care, routine mobility assistance, companionship, meals, errands, and transportation expectations must be reviewed.
- Care complexity: Memory, communication, mobility, household-safety, and caregiver-matching needs may require additional planning.
- Agency terms: Minimum visits, cancellation terms, schedule-change rules, and other written service-agreement provisions matter.
Assessment and discussion do not guarantee acceptance or an immediate start date. Service availability depends on scope, location, schedule, documentation, safety, and caregiver availability.
Ways Families May Pay for Home Care
Personal Funds
Families may use income, savings, retirement funds, or shared family contributions. Before care begins, request written rate information and identify who is authorized to approve schedule changes.
Long-Term Care Insurance
Some long-term care insurance policies reimburse eligible home-care expenses. Coverage depends on the policy’s definitions, benefit triggers, elimination period, daily or monthly limits, exclusions, and documentation requirements. The South Carolina Department of Insurance recommends understanding the policy and insurer requirements; obtain confirmation directly from the carrier rather than assuming a service will be reimbursed.
Veterans Benefits
Eligible veterans or survivors receiving a VA pension may qualify for Aid and Attendance or Housebound payments if they meet the applicable requirements. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—not a home-care agency—determines eligibility and benefit amounts.
Medicare
Medicare generally does not pay for custodial or personal care when that is the only care a person needs. Medicare home-health coverage has separate requirements for qualifying skilled services, homebound status, provider orders, and Medicare-certified agencies. Confirm coverage with Medicare or the person’s Medicare Advantage plan.
South Carolina Aging and Supportive-Service Programs
The South Carolina Department on Aging describes supportive services that may be available through local aging networks. Program availability, eligibility, waiting lists, service limits, and provider arrangements vary. Contact the relevant public agency or local Area Agency on Aging for current information.
What to Request in a Written Home-Care Quote
- The hourly, visit, shift, or other agreed rate
- The minimum visit length and minimum weekly schedule, if any
- The exact tasks included in the proposed service plan
- Any weekend, holiday, overnight, transportation, or mileage terms
- Deposit, billing-cycle, payment-method, and late-payment terms
- Cancellation, missed-visit, and schedule-change rules
- How rate changes will be communicated
- Who employs, supervises, schedules, and pays the caregiver
- How backup coverage and caregiver changes are handled
- What happens if needs become clinical or exceed the agreed non-medical scope
- The responsible office and telephone number for the case
How to Prepare for a Cost Consultation
- Write down the exact address or ZIP code where care is needed.
- List the requested days, start and end times, and desired start date.
- Describe the daily activities that require assistance.
- Identify mobility, memory, communication, household, and transportation considerations.
- Separate non-medical support from questions that require a licensed clinical professional.
- Gather relevant long-term care insurance or benefits documents without submitting sensitive records through a general website form.
- Ask for the proposed tasks, schedule, rate information, and responsibilities in writing.
For a fuller explanation of services and scope, read our Private-Pay Home Care in South Carolina guide. When you are ready to discuss a plan, visit Get Started or Contact From The Heart Home Care.
South Carolina Offices and Service Areas
Care availability and any quote depend on the requested schedule and exact location. Use the relevant market page as a starting point:
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does From The Heart Home Care charge per hour?
We do not state a universal rate on this guide. A written quote requires the care location, requested schedule, tasks, scope review, and staffing assessment. Call 864-520-1131 for current rate information for the proposed plan.
Is the $35 figure a From The Heart Home Care rate?
No. It is CareScout’s reported 2025 national median hourly rate for non-medical caregiver services. It is included only as an external planning benchmark and is not a company quote or South Carolina-specific price.
Does Medicare pay for non-medical personal care?
Generally, Medicare does not cover custodial or personal care when it is the only care needed. Medicare may cover qualifying home-health services under separate rules. Confirm the person’s specific coverage directly with Medicare or the plan.
Will long-term care insurance reimburse home care?
It may, depending on the policy. Ask the insurer about benefit triggers, elimination periods, covered providers and services, limits, exclusions, and required documentation before relying on reimbursement.
Can I purchase only a few hours of care?
Requested schedules are reviewed individually. Minimum visits, geographic coverage, caregiver availability, care needs, and start timing must be confirmed during intake.
What information is needed for an accurate quote?
Be ready to provide the care location, requested days and hours, desired start date, daily-living tasks, mobility and memory considerations, transportation expectations, and any scheduling constraints. Do not submit Social Security numbers, benefit identification numbers, medical records, or other sensitive health information through a general website form.
Sources and Accuracy Notes
- CareScout: 2025 Cost of Care Survey national median data
- South Carolina Department of Insurance: Long-Term Care Insurance
- Medicare.gov: Home Health Services Coverage
- South Carolina Department on Aging: Supportive Services
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: Aid and Attendance and Housebound
Costs, insurance terms, public-program rules, benefits, and service availability can change. CareScout’s figure is a national research median, not an agency quote or South Carolina-specific rate. Government agencies, plans, insurers, and benefit administrators—not From The Heart Home Care—determine eligibility and coverage. This guide provides general planning information and is not medical, legal, financial, insurance, tax, or benefits advice.
Request a Home-Care Cost Consultation
Call 864-520-1131, visit Get Started, or use the form below to tell us the location and schedule you are considering. Do not submit Social Security numbers, Medicare or Medicaid identification numbers, insurance documents, medical records, or other sensitive health information through this form.
Explore related questions in the South Carolina Home Care Knowledge Center.