Two agencies can describe the same kind of help and mean very different things by a visit, a shift, or a block of time. The rate means nothing until you know the unit it is counted in. Define the unit before you compare anything.

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.

Start with the unit

Every rate sits on top of a unit. The unit is the thing the agency counts and bills. It might be a visit, a shift, an hour, or a block of hours booked in advance. Each unit has its own start and stop rules, and those rules decide what you actually end up paying for.

Questions that define the unit

  • What counts as one visit? Does it start at the door or at the moment the caregiver leaves home?
  • Does travel time count toward the unit? Who carries that time?
  • Is there a minimum length for any visit? If you ask for a short visit, is that billed as a full unit?
  • Do weekends, holidays, or overnight hours use a different unit?
  • If the caregiver stays longer because you asked for something extra, does the unit change?
  • How is time recorded, and can the family see the record each week?
  • Who signs off the hours before they are billed?

Write the definition next to the rate

On your comparison sheet, put the unit definition on the same line as the rate. A rate without a unit is not a rate. It is a slogan. If an agency will not define the unit in writing, record that as a finding. It tells you how the bill will be counted later.

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).

If the contract runs long or the wording is unclear, ask someone qualified to read it before you sign. A full walk through a quote, line by line, is in How to read a home care quote.