What is respite care?

Respite care is temporary, short-term care provided to a person with a chronic illness, disability, or age-related needs so that their regular family caregiver can take a break. It can last a few hours, a few days, or several weeks. Respite can happen in the home, at an adult day program, or at a residential facility. The goal is to give the primary caregiver time to rest, travel, attend to their own health, or handle personal obligations.

Does Medicare cover respite care?

Medicare only covers respite care in a specific context: as part of the hospice benefit. If your loved one is enrolled in Medicare hospice, Medicare covers up to five consecutive days of inpatient respite care in a Medicare-approved facility per respite stay. Outside of hospice, Medicare does not cover respite care. Medicaid in some states covers limited respite through HCBS waivers.

How much does respite care cost?

Costs vary by type. In-home respite care from a professional aide typically runs $25–$40 per hour. Adult day programs run $75–$150 per day. Short-term stays in an assisted living or skilled nursing facility for respite typically cost $150–$350 per day. Some non-profit respite programs and volunteer programs offer free or low-cost services. The ARCH National Respite Network (archrespite.org) can help locate local resources.

Where can I find respite care near me?

Your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA) is a good first stop — find yours at eldercare.acl.gov or by calling the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116. The ARCH National Respite Network's respite locator tool at archrespite.org/respitelocator connects families to programs in their area. Your parent's home health agency or care manager can also typically arrange short-term respite coverage.

Is it wrong to use respite care for myself when my parent needs me?

No. Taking respite care is one of the most responsible things a family caregiver can do. Caregiver burnout is a documented health crisis — exhausted caregivers make more mistakes, experience worse health outcomes themselves, and are more likely to place their loved one in a care facility earlier than they otherwise would have. Sustainable caregiving requires rest. Respite care is not abandonment — it's maintenance.

Can I use respite care if my parent doesn't want me to?

This is a common and real challenge. Some people with dementia or other conditions resist unfamiliar caregivers or settings. If your parent is cognitively impaired and you are their legal healthcare decision-maker, you can make this decision for them. For in-home respite, gradually introducing a new caregiver during a time you're present can help. Adult day programs often allow a 'trial day' to ease the transition.

Respite Care: A Guide for Exhausted Family Caregivers

Here is something that most family caregivers know but rarely act on: you cannot give good care when you're running on empty.

If you are the primary caregiver for an aging parent — managing medications, attending appointments, handling personal care, fielding late-night confusion or fear — you are likely more depleted than you realize. The research on this is consistent. Family caregivers experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, sleep disruption, and physical illness than non-caregivers. Caregiver burnout is not a personal failure. It is a predictable outcome of providing intensive care without adequate support or rest.

Respite care exists to address exactly this. It's not a luxury or an admission that you can't handle things. It's a tool — one that most caregivers know exists but don't use until something breaks.

This guide covers what respite care is, the types available, what it costs, how Medicare and Medicaid fit in, and how to actually find it.

What Respite Care Is

Respite care is temporary care for your loved one so that you — the primary family caregiver — can rest, recover, travel, attend to your own medical needs, or handle whatever personal obligations have been piling up.

It can range from:

A few hours of help on a Tuesday afternoon
An overnight or weekend so you can sleep uninterrupted
A one- or two-week stay in a facility while you take a vacation or handle a family event
Regular recurring coverage (say, every Thursday and Friday) as a sustainable structure

The person receiving care doesn't have to be in the late stages of an illness to use respite. Respite care is appropriate whenever the caregiver needs a break — which, for most family caregivers, is frequently.

The framing that helps: Think of respite care the way you think of sleep. You don't sleep because you've "earned" it or because things are bad enough to warrant it. You sleep because it's required to function. Respite care works the same way. It's maintenance, not rescue.

Types of Respite Care

1. In-Home Respite Care

A paid care professional comes to your parent's home and takes over care duties for a defined period. This is the most flexible option and often the least disruptive for your loved one, since they remain in their familiar environment.

In-home respite can be arranged through:

A licensed home care agency (the most common and most reliable route)
A certified home health aide hired privately
A volunteer respite program through a faith community or non-profit

What in-home respite typically covers: Personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming), companionship, meal preparation, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and supervision. Medical tasks (wound care, IV management, complex medication administration) require a licensed nurse and are a higher level of care.

Cost: Professional in-home respite care typically runs $25–$40 per hour depending on region and the level of care required. Overnight or 24-hour care is typically $300–$500 per day.

2. Adult Day Programs

Adult day programs (sometimes called adult day health programs or adult day centers) are community-based programs where older adults spend structured time during the day — typically weekday business hours — in a supervised setting with activities, meals, and social engagement.

For the caregiver who works or needs daytime hours free, an adult day program can provide regular scheduled respite without the cost of in-home care. Many people with early to moderate dementia do well in adult day programs, which are designed with their needs in mind.

What adult day programs offer:

Supervision and safety
Structured programming and cognitive engagement
Meals and snacks
Social interaction with peers
Some programs offer health monitoring and medication management
Transportation in some programs

Cost: Adult day programs typically run $75–$150 per day, significantly less than equivalent in-home care. Some programs offer sliding-scale fees.

Finding programs: Your local Area Agency on Aging maintains a list of adult day programs in your area. Find your AAA at eldercare.acl.gov or by calling the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116.

3. Short-Term Residential Respite (Facility-Based Respite)

When caregivers need longer breaks — a week away, a medical procedure, or an extended recovery period — a short-term stay at a residential facility is the answer.

Options include:

Assisted living communities that offer short-term or "respite stays" (many do; ask specifically when touring)
Memory care communities with short-term respite beds (important for dementia caregivers)
Skilled nursing facilities that accept short-term residents
Dedicated respite programs at some non-profit residential communities

Short-term facility respite typically requires a minimum stay (often a week) and may have different pricing than the community's standard long-term rates. Some communities require a health assessment before admission.

Cost: Short-term facility respite typically runs $150–$350 per day depending on the community, region, and level of care required.

For families considering a permanent transition to assisted living, a short-term respite stay can also serve as a trial — an opportunity for your parent to experience a community before committing to permanent residency.

What Medicare Covers (and Doesn't)

Medicare's coverage of respite care is limited to one specific circumstance: the hospice benefit.

If your loved one is enrolled in Medicare hospice care, Medicare covers inpatient respite care — a short-term stay in a Medicare-approved inpatient facility — for up to five consecutive days per respite stay. The patient pays 5% of the Medicare-approved amount. This benefit can be used multiple times throughout the hospice period.

Outside of the hospice context, Medicare does not cover respite care. It does not cover:

Home care aide visits for caregiver relief
Adult day program attendance
Short-term facility stays for respite purposes

This surprises many caregivers who assume Medicare provides more support than it does. For more on where Medicare does and doesn't apply in care settings, see our guide to home care.

What Medicaid and Other Programs Cover

Medicaid's respite coverage varies by state and program. In states with robust Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers, respite care may be a covered benefit. This might include:

In-home respite hours
Adult day program attendance
Short-term residential respite

Contact your state Medicaid agency or local Area Agency on Aging to determine what respite benefits your parent's Medicaid program (if they're enrolled) covers.

The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), funded through the Older Americans Act and administered through local Area Agencies on Aging, provides some funding for caregiver support services including respite. This is not an entitlement program — funding is limited and not available to everyone — but it's worth contacting your AAA to ask about available assistance.

The ARCH National Respite Network (archrespite.org) maintains a national locator for respite care resources, including volunteer programs, subsidized programs, and emergency respite funds. Many families are unaware that free or low-cost respite resources exist in their area.

Veterans: If your loved one is a veteran, the VA Caregiver Support Program (caregiver.va.gov) provides some respite benefits for eligible veterans and their caregivers.

Talking Yourself Into Using It: The Guilt Problem

The most common reason family caregivers don't use respite care is guilt.

It sounds something like this: If I really loved my parent, I'd be there for them. Using outside help feels like admitting I can't handle it. My parent doesn't like other people helping them. They only want me. What if something happens while I'm away?

These feelings are understandable. They are also, in aggregate, a trap.

Here is what the research consistently shows (the AARP Public Policy Institute and multiple caregiver studies document this well): caregivers who take regular breaks provide better care over time. They make fewer medication errors. They are less likely to resort to crisis-driven decisions — including premature nursing home placement — under pressure. They live longer and healthier lives themselves.

When a caregiver burns out completely, their loved one loses that caregiver. The alternative to rest is not more sacrifice — it's collapse.

If guilt is the obstacle, try these reframes:

"Taking care of myself is part of taking care of my parent."
"My parent needs me to be well, not just present."
"Using a professional caregiver once a week isn't abandonment — it's backup."

If your parent resists: Resistance is common, especially in people with dementia who are disoriented by unfamiliar faces. A few strategies:

Introduce the respite caregiver while you're present, so the relationship develops before you leave
Use a consistent respite caregiver (same person, same day) to build familiarity
Adult day programs often allow a trial day with a family member present
Frame it to your parent as "I need someone to help while I'm at a doctor's appointment" rather than "I'm taking a break"

Building Respite Into Your Routine Before You Need It Desperately

The worst time to figure out respite care is when you're already in crisis — sick yourself, completely depleted, or facing a family emergency. Set up the infrastructure now.

Practical steps:

Identify one or two home care agencies in your area and complete the initial intake process, even if you don't schedule regular care yet
Tour adult day programs near your parent and put them on file
Ask your parent's physician about hospice eligibility if they have a serious illness — the hospice team can coordinate respite when needed
Identify which assisted living or memory care communities in your area offer short-term respite stays
Connect with your local Area Agency on Aging to understand what subsidized programs exist

Having these resources identified in advance means that when you need a break — and you will — you're not starting from scratch.

Whether you're planning for regular respite coverage or looking for a short-term care option while you travel or recover, DigitalCare60's provider directory lets you search assisted living, adult day, and home care providers near you and compare your options before you need them.