Here is the problem in one line. You are choosing between several home care agencies, and most of them will not say what their help costs until someone has visited your home. You cannot compare what nobody says out loud.
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.
How to tell you have it
Call three agencies on the same day and ask the same question: what does a typical week look like for someone who needs help most mornings and two evenings? If you get a range, a stated rule, and a written example, you have answers you can line up. If you hear "it depends" three times, you have the problem. If the only next step is a sales visit with no figure on the table, you have the problem again.
Why silence counts as a finding
When an agency publishes nothing, that is information. It tells you the first call will be a negotiation, not a lookup. This site records that plainly as "does not publish rates." It is not a judgment about anyone's character. It is a fact about what you can check before you commit, and it belongs in your notes next to everything else you learned.
What to ask on the first call
Ask what the total is built from, not just the total. Ask whether the charge changes with the hours, the days, the time of day, or the kind of visit. Ask who sets the rate and whether they will put it in writing before anyone is scheduled. Write down the date, the name of the person you spoke with, and their exact words. Then compare the notes, not your memory of the call.
What comparison looks like when it works
You do not need every agency to publish a number. You need enough of them to answer the same few questions in the same terms. Once you have that, the differences show. This desk builds its front page that way. It scores how plainly each agency talks about money on its website and on the first call, then puts the public pay tables underneath, so you can judge the figure that sits beneath every rate. Read how we rate for the full scoring rules, or go to the ranking front page to see the comparison itself.