You called three agencies. Each one sounded kind. None of them gave you a rate you could write down. That is the problem, and it has a name: you are comparing blind.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

What blind looks like

You cannot finish this sentence with a single unit: a visit with this agency means... If the unit changes from agency to agency, you are comparing different things. One quotes a shift. Another quotes a day. A third quotes a block of hours with a minimum attached. Put them side by side and you have three sentences, not three prices.

The answers also change with who picks up. The office says one thing. The intake person says another. The callback says a third. Each of those is a sentence, and none of them is a number.

Some agencies will not name a starting point at all. They say rates depend on needs. They never give a range, a floor, or a unit. Record that as a finding. The record reads: does not publish rates. That is information. It tells you how much of the risk will land on your family.

What it costs: The Missouri median for non-medical in-home care is $33 an hour, per the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025 state data tables, released March 2026. New Plan Care's standard rate is $34 an hour with a four-hour minimum, so a visit starts at $136 (newplancare.com/services).

What you need in hand before you compare

Write four lines on one page. The unit: what is billed, a visit, a shift, an hour, or a block. The minimum: the shortest booking you can make and still pay for. The start point: where the rate begins and what it is tied to. The extras: what the agency charges beyond the base unit, and what triggers each extra.

How to run the test

Call every agency with the same questions, in the same order. Write each answer word for word. Do not paraphrase. When the answers are in, compare the units first. Only then compare what each unit adds up to.

An agency that names its unit in plain words has already done half your work. Credit it. Put it at the top of your list.

Where a rate is missing, do not fill the gap with a guess. Keep the blank. Ask for the answer in writing. If the answer stays blank, the blank is the finding.

The ranking on this site scores how plainly each agency talks about money on its website and on the first call. Read How We Rate before you trust the order. The order is a shortlist for your calls, not a final say.