Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac, Maryland
Home Care in Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac
Most families start looking for home care in the two weeks after something goes wrong. This page is written so that you can make a defensible decision quickly, without learning the industry first.
What to know before you hire
Home care covers everything from a few hours of companionship each week to full-time personal care. The providers below serve households who want to stay in their own homes rather than move to a facility.
Home care in lower Montgomery County is not in short supply. The difficulty is that the agencies serving Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac mostly operate out of Rockville, Silver Spring and North Bethesda, and their coverage of the western part of the county thins out as you move toward Potomac and River Road. An agency that answers the phone enthusiastically may still struggle to staff a 7am shift on a weekday in 20854. Ask about that specific address, not the service area on the website.
The second local factor is the housing itself. A large share of homes in these three towns are two and three story colonials with the only full bathroom upstairs. That geometry decides what kind of help a person actually needs. A caregiver who cannot safely assist on stairs is the wrong match for a house with no first floor bathroom, regardless of how good the agency is. Walk the house before you write the job description.
Cost in this market is driven by shift length far more than hourly rate. Agencies commonly enforce a minimum shift, often three or four hours, and sometimes a weekly minimum on top of it. Two ninety-minute visits a day, which is what many families actually want, can be the most expensive way to buy care or simply unavailable. Ask for the minimum before you ask for the rate.
The one thing most people get wrong
The single biggest difference between agencies is whether caregivers are W-2 employees of the agency or 1099 independent contractors. With W-2 employees, the agency carries workers compensation, handles payroll taxes, and is liable for the caregiver's conduct. With contractors, much of that can fall to you as the household. Ask before anything else.
How to verify a provider yourself
In Maryland, an agency providing non-medical personal care in the home generally must hold a Residential Service Agency license, issued by the Office of Health Care Quality under COMAR 10.07.05. Skilled nursing is licensed separately as a Home Health Agency.
- Ask the agency directly for its Maryland RSA license number and the name it is licensed under, which is often not the name on the marketing materials.
- Confirm the license with the Office of Health Care Quality rather than accepting a certificate by email.
- Ask whether the agency has been surveyed, when, and whether any deficiencies were cited.
- Ask for a certificate of insurance naming general liability and workers compensation, and check that the policy dates have not passed.
Maryland Office of Health Care Quality: search the public registry or call 410-402-8040.
Questions to ask
- Are your caregivers W-2 employees or 1099 independent contractors?
- Who supervises the caregiver, and is there a registered nurse involved in the care plan?
- What is your minimum shift length, and is there a weekly minimum?
- What happens when the assigned caregiver is sick or on vacation?
- Do you bill long-term care insurance directly, or do I pay and submit?
- What is your background check policy, and how often is it repeated?
What should make you pause
- An agency that will not tell you whether caregivers are W-2 employees or 1099 contractors. The answer decides who is liable if a caregiver is injured in the house.
- A registry or referral service presenting itself as an agency. Registries introduce you to a caregiver and step back. You may become the employer without realizing it.
- No named supervisor. If nobody above the caregiver has seen the house, there is no care plan, only a schedule.
- Pressure to sign a long term contract at the first visit, which usually indicates a sales process rather than an assessment process.
Home Care and Aging in Place providers
This directory is being built. A business appears here once we have confirmed its license with the state register that issues it, whether or not the business has heard of us. A verification badge is separate and narrower: it appears only after the business has signed a listing agreement, a current certificate of insurance is on file, and the credential has been confirmed on a stated date.
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1Heart Caregiver Services Rockville
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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1st Adult N Pediatric Healthcare Services Inc
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Absolute Care Nursing & Home Health Care Services, LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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ACCfamily
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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AceCare Health Services, LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Alice Advanced Home Healthcare Services, LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Assisting Hands of Potomac
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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At Ease Home Care LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Bailah HomeCare
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Bethesda Home Health Care Services LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Beyond Excellence Nursing and Therapy Services
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Capital City Nurses
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Capital Home Care Services, LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Caring Hearts Care, LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Corewood Homecare
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Courtesy Healthcare Services, Inc.
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Crystal Care Nursing Agency
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Encore Life Care, LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Family & Nursing Care
Listing not yet verifiedLicensed as a caregiver referral registry, not as a home care employer. The caregivers referred are independent contractors, which changes who employs and insures the person in your home. Ask about this directly.
- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Georgetown Home Care
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Giovanni Home Care Services
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Golden Touch Health Care LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Home Health Connection, Inc
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Home Helpers Home Care of Bethesda, MD
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Homecentrix Health Care
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Homewatch CareGivers of Bethesda
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Homewatch CareGivers of Potomac
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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JSSA
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Nest & Care
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Nurturing Angels Home Care
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Potomac Home Support, Inc
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Prime Companions Home Care, LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Quality Care Services, Inc
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Seniors Helping Seniors
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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SmithLife Homecare
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Specialty Care Services
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Trusted Hands Home Care LLC
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
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Yahweh Residential Service Agency Limited Liability Company
Listing not yet verified- No listing agreement signed
- No insurance certificate on file
- Contact routed through this site
Home Care in Bethesda
26 providers cover Bethesda. See everything serving Bethesda.
Home Care in Chevy Chase
11 providers cover Chevy Chase. See everything serving Chevy Chase.
Home Care in Potomac
11 providers cover Potomac. See everything serving Potomac.
Common questions
Does Medicare pay for home care in Maryland?
Medicare generally does not pay for long term personal care or companionship at home. It can cover limited skilled home health services when they are ordered by a physician and the person meets the criteria, which is a narrower and shorter benefit than most families expect. Long term care insurance, if it exists, is usually the relevant policy. Verify coverage with the insurer directly before relying on it.
What is the difference between a home care agency and a caregiver registry?
An agency employs caregivers, carries workers compensation and liability coverage, handles scheduling and supervision, and is responsible for the caregiver's conduct. A registry introduces you to an independent caregiver and typically takes a placement or ongoing fee. In the registry model much of the employer responsibility, including tax and insurance exposure, can shift to the household. Both models operate in this market. Ask which one you are buying.
How quickly can care usually start?
Agencies will often quote a fast start, but a fast start and the right caregiver are different things. It is reasonable to accept an interim caregiver while the agency finds a better long term match, provided the agency says plainly that is what is happening.