Guides
Paying for Home Care Privately in New Jersey
More families have funding options than realize it. Start with the policy in the drawer.
More families have funding options than realize it. Start with the policy in the drawer.
First, what the big public programs do and do not do. Medicare covers short-term skilled home health, such as intermittent nursing visits or therapy ordered by a doctor, under specific conditions. It does not cover ongoing non-medical caregiver hours, and it does not cover personal care when that is the only care needed. Medicaid does fund some home care, but qualifying requires very limited income and assets.
Lumara is a private-pay agency. We do not participate in Medicaid or Medicare, and we are not currently a VA-enrolled provider. What follows is how our families actually fund care: savings and income, long-term care insurance, VA Aid and Attendance paid to the veteran, and a few other sources worth knowing about.
If your parent bought a long-term care policy years ago, that policy is the first thing to find. Most tax-qualified policies pay benefits when a licensed health care practitioner certifies one of two triggers: needing substantial help with at least two of six activities of daily living, bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring, and continence, for a period expected to last 90 days or more, or needing substantial supervision because of severe cognitive impairment.
Two policy terms decide the money. The elimination period is the number of days of paid care, often 30, 60, or 90, before benefits begin. The daily or monthly benefit is the cap on what the policy reimburses. Both are printed in the policy schedule, and neither is negotiable later, which is why the time to read the policy is now and not mid-crisis.
Aid and Attendance is an addition to the VA pension, paid in cash to wartime-era veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily living and meet service and financial criteria. Because it is paid to the veteran rather than to a provider, the family can spend it on any care they choose, including private home care.
At the rates effective December 2025, the benefit can be worth up to $2,424 a month for a single veteran ($29,093 a year), more with a dependent, and up to $1,558 a month ($18,697 a year) for a surviving spouse. The 2025 net worth limit is $163,699, with the primary home and one vehicle exempt from the count. These numbers adjust every December, so check the current figures on VA.gov before planning around them.
One warning that matters: applying is free through VA-accredited representatives and veterans service organizations. No legitimate path requires paying a company to qualify you. Anyone charging a fee to unlock this benefit is a reason to walk away.
Some life insurance policies can be converted or accelerated to fund care; whether that trade makes sense depends on the policy and the family, so have a financial advisor run the numbers. Home equity, through a HELOC or reverse mortgage, can fund years of care, and can also go badly wrong; the caution label here is bold and underlined: independent advice first.
Sibling cost-sharing works best with a short written agreement so nobody is reconstructing memories a year in. And keep the tax angle in view: under IRS Publication 502 for 2025 returns, qualified long-term care services for a chronically ill person, provided under a plan of care prescribed by a licensed health care practitioner, count as medical expenses, deductible for itemizers above 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income. A tax professional can tell you what that is worth in your bracket.
We provide invoices and care documentation in the format long-term care reimbursement claims need, and we keep the records that make those claims smooth. The policyholder files the claim and receives the reimbursement; the care itself starts on your family’s schedule and never waits on an insurer’s decision.
For the actual numbers care costs in this county, our cost guide lays out the market data and the monthly math.
No, not for ongoing caregiver hours. Medicare covers short-term skilled home health, such as intermittent nursing visits or therapy ordered by a doctor, under specific conditions. It does not cover personal care when that is the only care needed, and it does not cover homemaker services.
We supply the documentation your reimbursement claim needs: invoices, care notes, and the records insurers ask for. The policyholder files the claim and receives the reimbursement. Care starts on your family’s timeline and never waits on the insurer.
Wartime-era veterans and their surviving spouses who meet service, care-need, and financial criteria. The dollar amounts change every December, so check current numbers on VA.gov, and apply for free through a VA-accredited representative. No one should ever pay a fee to be qualified for this benefit.
If you are sorting out how to fund care, call (551) 500-2054. We will tell you plainly what we have seen work for families in your situation.
Or call us directly at (551) 500-2054.