What Is Respite Care, and Who Pays For It?

Substitute caregiving, known as respite care, can provide breaks for the estimated 53 million people in the U.S. who provide unpaid care for a loved one or family member. Being a caregiver for a loved one who is ill, recovering from a major health event, or disabled can be overwhelming. 

Respite care gives caregivers relief from caretaking duties. Giving caregivers a break can be so beneficial to their emotional and physical health that the federal government’s Family Caregiving Advisory Council recommends respite care services as part of the national caregiving strategy.

What is respite care?

Respite care is a service that provides substitute caregiving for a period of time to relieve informal or unpaid caregivers. Caregivers often use this time for self-care, such as to rest or attend to their own affairs. Respite care can take place in a variety of settings, including:

• Your home

• Your loved one’s home

• Adult day care center

• Residential facilities that provide overnight care

Respite care may provide different kinds of relief. The service could be brief, such as a care provider coming to your home or your loved one’s home for a couple of hours if you want to run errands or attend a social event. The respite care could be for an extended period for caregivers who want to take a vacation or who may need to focus on their own health needs.

Types of respite care

There are many types of respite care, including in-home and out-of-home options, depending on your needs. They include:

• In-home respite care by a hired employee

• In-home respite care by a volunteer, who may be a relative or friend

• Sitter-companion service by someone trained to care for an adult or child with special needs

• Respite care offered in the substitute caregiver’s home or by a host family

• Respite care provided in a nursing home, assisted living center, or group home

• Respite care offered in a day care program for adults or for children with special needs

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How do respite care services work?

Respite care covers a broad array of services, depending on the needs of the caregiver or the person under care. Some of the tasks a respite care provider can help your loved one with include:

• Preparing meals 

• Bathing

• Dressing

• Taking medications

• Exercising

• Toileting

• Doing laundry

• Shopping

• Using transportation

• Receiving medical care

The Alzheimer’s Association points out that respite care providers also can provide your loved one with emotional support, such as companionship or supervised activities, to alleviate or prevent boredom. 

What are the benefits of respite care, and whom does it serve?

Respite care serves two parties: those who need the help of a caretaker, and caregivers themselves. A person dealing with major health challenges needs help every day. If their caregiver is temporarily unable to provide assistance, they will need someone to step in. Respite care does just that.

At the same time, caregivers need breaks from their caregiving duties. Respite care supports the caregiver by taking over their duties for a time.

Respite care may benefit the caregivers of people who are recovering from acute health events or those who have chronic health conditions, such as:

• Cancer

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Parkinson’s disease

• Multiple sclerosis

• Heart disease

Nonprofit advocacy organizations offer specific advice — including arranging respite care to avoid burnout — for those taking care of people with health conditions, including:

• Cancer

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Heart disease

Respite care costs

Respite care can be costly. The amount varies depending on the length of needed services, as well as whether the respite care provider will come to a home — yours or your loved one’s — or if you will take the person needing care to a facility. According to the 2021 Genworth Cost of Care Survey published in 2022, the national median rate for a home health aide visit is $27 an hour. If you choose to take your loved one to an adult day care center, the national median cost is $78 per day.

Depending on the type of care, you may be charged:

• By the hour for services such as in-home care

• By the day for services such as adult day care

• By the month for a longer-term placement, such as in a nursing home

Who pays for respite care?

Respite care can be covered by:

• Health insurance

• Long-term care insurance 

• Personal funds

• Grants

If you are paying for respite care yourself, you can hire a home health aide or pay for the services of a facility as needed. Your out-of-pocket expenses may qualify as tax-deductible medical expenses. The costs also may be reimbursable by a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA).

You may also have access to special programs or grants to pay for respite care. These options include:

• State lifespan respite voucher programs: These respite voucher programs provide financial assistance, typically via reimbursement, for families that need to pay for substitute caregivers. This program is available in certain states. Some of them receive funding from the federal lifespan respite care program, which provides grants to fund community-based relief for caregivers of children and adults with disabilities and/or chronic conditions.

• National Family Caregiver Support Program: This program provides respite support for people who are caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. You can also receive help if you are a relative or parent 55 and older caring for a minor or an adult child with disabilities.

• HFC and Home Instead Caregiver Respite Program: This program provides respite care hours, not funding, to help caregivers across the U.S. recharge or focus on themselves.

Does Medicare pay for respite care?

Respite care in an inpatient setting is covered by Medicare Part A at a Medicare-approved facility, such as a hospice, hospital, or nursing home. You may be charged 5% of the cost, which means a $100-a-day facility fee would cost you $5 per day. However, Medicare imposes limits on respite care. The covered person can stay up to 5 days each time respite care services are accessed, but they may only “occasionally” access such services, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Some Medicare Advantage programs will cover respite care.

Does Medicaid pay for respite care?

Medicaid also covers respite care in several ways, including:

• As a community-based service, in some states

• As part of inpatient hospice care in a Medicaid-approved inpatient facility; the covered individual can stay away up to 5 days at a time, including the date of admission but not the date of discharge. Day 6 and beyond are paid at the routine home care rate.

Medicaid also offers respite assistance through special programs called waivers, such as medical respite care for unhoused people who have been discharged from the hospital and should not recover on the streets. Check with your state or territory Medicaid office about specific benefits for any of these programs and how to qualify.

How can I find affordable respite care near me?

Affordable options can be difficult to find — but they do exist. For example, some states and nonprofit organizations have programs that provide funding for respite care providers who meet certain criteria. You can browse resources offered by the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center.

Organizations and programs that provide free or low-cost respite care have their own eligibility criteria. For example, to receive respite care under New York’s Family Caregiver Support Program, you must:

• Provide care for someone age 60 or older

• Provide care for someone of any age who has Alzheimer’s disease or related disorders

• Be a grandparent or other nonparent relative caring for a child under 18

• Provide care to adults ages 18 to 59 with disabilities

Another example: In Texas, a slate of services offers caregivers relief under a program called Take Time Texas.

You should also check with your state or territory health department to see what free or low-cost caregiving resources are offered, such as from your Area Agency on Aging. You may find other affordable options through community groups or faith organizations that have caregiving ministries and programs. You might also call on friends and relatives to provide the gift of support if you need to take a break from your caregiving duties.

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Written by:

Tamara E. Holmes

Tamara E. Holmes is a Washington, DC-based freelance journalist and content strategist who has been writing about personal finance, health, and health insurance for more than a decade. Her work has appeared in various print and online publications, such as USA Today, AARP, Working Mother, and Diversity Woman.

Edited by:

Cindy George, MPH

Cindy George is the senior personal finance editor at GoodRx. She is an endlessly curious health journalist and digital storyteller.

Reviewed by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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