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What In-Home Care Costs

A verified current Minnesota hourly rate for non-medical home care was not available at publication -- here is how to get a real number and think through the math.

HomeCosts & PayingWhat In-Home Care Costs
Short answer

We were not able to independently confirm a current, primary-sourced hourly rate for non-medical home care in the Twin Cities at the time this page was published. Rather than repeat an unverified figure, we say so directly -- get written hourly quotes from two or three licensed home care providers serving your area instead.

How to think about the crossover point

The general math still applies even without a published rate: multiply a provider's quoted hourly rate by your actual weekly hours (10, 20, 40, 60, or around-the-clock at 168) and compare the monthly total against assisted living's roughly $6,573/month Minnesota median (itself third-party sourced and unverified against CareScout's own tables -- see our cost guide). Most families find that somewhere between 40 and 60 hours a week of paid in-home care, the math starts to favor a licensed community, though this varies by household and by the specific rate you are quoted.

Medicare does not cover this

Non-medical home care -- help with bathing, dressing, meals, companionship -- is generally private pay. Medicare-covered home health is a completely different, narrower benefit: skilled, intermittent, and physician-ordered.

Questions families ask

What senior care options exist in Washington County?

Washington County, including Woodbury and Stillwater along the St. Croix River valley, has the metro's highest share of residents age 65+ at 18.8% — meaning it is, proportionally, the fastest-aging of the seven Twin Cities metro counties. It uses the same statewide Trellis, Senior LinkAge Line, MDH licensing, and MAARC resources as the rest of the metro.

Is care different in Bloomington versus other Hennepin County suburbs?

No — Bloomington operates under the identical Minnesota statewide licensing (Chapter 144G), Medicaid waiver (Elderly Waiver/Alternative Care), and abuse-reporting (MAARC) framework as every other city in Hennepin County and the broader metro. What varies city to city is the local supply, style, and pricing of individual communities, not the underlying regulatory or funding structure.

What's the difference between assisted living and memory care in Minnesota?

Assisted living (Minn. Stat. 144G.10, subd. 2(a)) provides housing plus health-related and supportive services for residents who need help with daily activities but not specialized dementia care. Memory care requires the separate 'assisted living facility with dementia care' license (subd. 2(b)), mandatory dementia-specific staff training (Minn. Stat. 144G.83), and a secured unit with a required written pre-admission disclosure (Minn. Stat. 325F.72).

What's the difference between the Elderly Waiver and Alternative Care in Minnesota?

The Elderly Waiver (EW) is a federal-state Medicaid HCBS waiver requiring the applicant to already be Medical Assistance eligible, while Alternative Care (AC) is a state-only-funded program (no federal match) for seniors who need EW-equivalent services but aren't yet financially MA-eligible. Both use a similar service array and cost cap and never pay room and board.

How does a nursing home differ from assisted living in Minnesota?

Nursing homes provide 24-hour skilled nursing care for residents with significant medical needs and are licensed and regulated separately from assisted living, with their own Nursing Home Report Card. Assisted living, licensed under Chapter 144G, serves residents who need help with daily activities and some health-related services but not continuous skilled nursing oversight, and is generally less expensive.

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