Private caregivers who are paid for 10 or more hours a week must now be licensed by state

Your mother can no longer live by herself,” says your family doctor, “You need to find someone to care for her, or consider a nursing home.” You think to yourself, there isn't any way we can afford to pay for a nursing home. You ask your neighbors and friends about possible solutions. One suggests Mrs. Smith, a licensed nurse’s aide (LNA) from down the street who routinely takes care of seniors. “I'll bet she won't charge anywhere near what a nursing home would want,” you think, “Sounds like a plan!”

Before putting this plan into action, please consider the following: If Mrs. Smith, a private caregiver, provides 10 or more hours of care per week and is being paid for services, she must now be licensed with the State of New Hampshire as a Home Care Provider. (NH RSA He-P 822). This law has been in effect since July of 2009 but very few people are aware of it, yet it could greatly hurt them. No caregiver—not even an LNA — may work privately more than nine hours a week, unless licensed as a home care provider. The risk of hiring a private caregiver is enormous.

“With a [private] caregiver, you have no assurance of credibility, professional competence, criminal background, or history of fraud, just to name a few. Please be wary of any lists provided for you to select a private caregiver. Some may be unlicensed and their backgrounds may not have not been checked,” says Rod Bascom, Chief of Health Facilities Licensing for the State of New Hampshire.

A state-licensed company is accountable to the Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services. With a licensed and reputable company, the caregiver will be: 1. screened — the caregiver will have been carefully screened, including motor vehicle check, criminal background check, and Bureau of Elderly & Adult Services check for elder abuse. A good company will even check the employee’s credit, looking for signs of fraud; 2. trained — the caregiver will be trained initially, and will also receive ongoing training; 3. an employee — the caregiver will be an employee who is trained and supervised. The licensed company will be responsible for the caregiver under federal and state law, including all taxes and reporting; 4. scheduled — reputable company will provide a substitute caregiver in the event that the usual caregiver is ill or on vacation; 5. insured — in addition to providing workers’ C=compensation insurance for each employee, a reputable company will be well-insured and bonded.

These are just a few reasons to hire a licensed home care company. There are 83 licensed home care service providers in New Hampshire. To check whether a company is state-licensed, call the Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services at 800-351-1888.

— Maundy Mitchell and Bill York