What is Respite Care? Types, Costs, and How to Find It?
Learn what respite care is, the main types, what it costs, and what Medicare and the VA cover. A caregiver's guide with trusted resources.
Ruby M. · Senior Living Writer
· 9 min read
Table of Contents
- What is Respite Care?
- Who Can Use Respite Care?
- How is Respite Care Different from Adult Day Care and Home Care
- Types of Respite Care
- Why Respite Care is Important: What the Research Shows
- Signs You May Require Respite Care
- What Does Respite Care Cost?
- Does Medicare Pay for Respite Care?
- What Medicare doesn't cover
- Medicaid and state programs
- VA respite care
- Private pay and long-term care insurance
- How to Find Respite Care
- Questions to Ask a Respite Care Provider
- Getting the Most Out of Your Break
- Frequently Asked Questions
- What’s Next
Respite care is temporary, short-term care that gives a break to a family caregiver while someone else provides care for the person they care for. Today, approximately 63 million Americans (about one in four adults) provide this type of care, and nearly one in five report that caregiving has had a negative impact on their own health (fair or poor). If you are one of those people, this guide explains what respite care is, the main types, what it costs, who pays for it, and how to find it.
This guide is for general information, not medical, legal, or financial advice. Check details with your care team, insurer, or local agency on aging.
What is Respite Care?
Respite care is planned or emergency care to give a family caregiver a break. According to the federal Administration for Community Living (ACL), it is an important component of home- and community-based long-term services that can benefit both the caregiver and the care recipient.
A break could be a few hours or a weekend or a few weeks. It can take place at home, in an adult day center or in a care facility. The goal is the same in all cases: qualified help steps in so you can rest, see a doctor, work, travel, or just recover.
Who Can Use Respite Care?
Respite care is not only for older adults. Respite is for families caring for children with disabilities, people with chronic or terminal illnesses, and families at risk of abuse or neglect. It is also available to hospice families.
How is Respite Care Different from Adult Day Care and Home Care
The goal of respite care is to give the caregiver a break. Services such as adult day care and in-home help can provide that relief. An adult day program also provides meals, activities, and supervision to the care recipient in a group setting, and these programs can offer respite to caregivers. Continuing home care is often a long-term arrangement, but respite is supposed to be temporary.
Types of Respite Care
Most respite falls into four groups. The right one depends on how long you need a break, the care your loved one needs, and your budget.
Type | Where it happens | Typical length | Best for |
Informal | Your home, with family, friends or neighbors | A few hours | Short breaks, errands, your own appointments |
In-home | Your loved one’s home, with a trained aide or nurse | Hours to days | People who do best in familiar surroundings |
Adult day services | A community center, usually on weekdays | A full of half day | Regular daytime breaks, people who enjoy company |
Short-term facility stay | A nursing home, assisted living community or hospice facility | Days to weeks | Travel, surgery or a caregiver emergency |
In-home Respite
A professional caregiver visits the home so loved ones can maintain their routine. Agencies usually charge per hour and may have a minimum number of hours per visit, so ask about this before you book.
Adult Day Services
Adult day programs provide supervised activities, meals, and sometimes health services in a group setting, providing caregivers with a predictable block of free time. Day programs often cost less than hiring a home aide to give regular weekday breaks on an hourly basis.
Short-term Facility Stays
Some hospice facilities, assisted living communities, and nursing homes offer temporary stays. These work for longer breaks, like a vacation or recovery from surgery on yourself.
Informal Respite
Informal respite comes from your own circle: a sibling who takes a Saturday, a neighbor who sits with your parent or a volunteer from a faith community. It’s inexpensive, but it depends on people being available, so many caregivers combine it with paid options.
Why Respite Care is Important: What the Research Shows
Caregiving is hard, and the price is measurable. According to a 2025 report by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, the number of caregivers has increased by 45 percent in the past decade, and approximately 20 percent report fair or poor health related to caregiving.
Research suggests that respite can help. In a Journal of Palliative Medicine study of hospice caregivers, self-reported stress declined by 52 percent after receiving respite services. That study was small, with matched before-and-after surveys from 23 caregivers, and 15 of them gave mixed or negative comments about the quality of the service. So respite helps, but it matters how good it is.
But the broader research is more cautious. An article describes the results as moderately positive but often inconsistent, and argues that how caregivers use their respite time may be a missing piece. In practice, that means it’s worth planning your break so it actually rejuvenates you.
Signs You May Require Respite Care
It is best to arrange respite before you are at breaking point. If you see that you think about it:
Feel tired most days, or have trouble sleeping
Putting off seeing your own doctors
Feel more irritable, anxious or hopeless than usual
Have pulled away from friends, hobbies or work
Have not had a real break in months
Are sick or recovering and can’t safely provide care
If you are feeling hopeless or have thoughts of harming yourself, call a doctor or crisis line right away.
What Does Respite Care Cost?
The cost depends on the type of care, the hours and your location. There is no national price for respite so the figures below are national medians for related long term care services from the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey. They are not a short stay quote, they are a planning guide.
Service | National median (2025) |
Non-medical in-home caregiver | $35/hour |
Adult day health care | $95/day |
Assisted living community | $6,200/month |
Nursing home, private room | $355/day |
Two tips for practical use. First, ask any agency about their minimum number of hours, and whether they charge extra for same-day or overnight care, as it is often harder to arrange urgent requests. Second, if you need a predictable daytime break, compare an adult day program with hourly home care, as a day program is often the less expensive option.
Does Medicare Pay for Respite Care?
Short answer: Medicare will only pay for respite care for hospice patients, and only as inpatient respite care for up to 5 days at a time.
Inpatient respite care in an approved facility is covered by Medicare under the hospice benefit to allow a usual caregiver such as a family member to take a break. Each stay can be for a maximum of 5 consecutive days and respite can be utilized more than once but only sparingly. You pay 5 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for each respite day. The hospice team arranges the stay, so talk to them first.
What Medicare doesn't cover
Respite care is not covered under Original Medicare for people who are not in hospice care. It does not pay for respite in the home outside of the hospice benefit. If you want a longer break, or are not on hospice, you’ll need another way to pay.
Medicaid and state programs
Medicaid rules differ from state to state. Home and community-based services in some state Medicaid programs and Older Americans Act programs offer respite, and the federal Lifespan Respite Care Program helps states coordinate respite services for family caregivers. To find out what is available in your community, call your state or local Area Agency on Aging.
VA respite care
Veterans enrolled in VA health care and needing a family caregiver may be eligible for up to 30 days of respite care per year. Call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274. Program rules can change. Check with a VA Caregiver Support Coordinator for current details.
Private pay and long-term care insurance
Some long-term care insurance policies include respite or adult day benefits. Check your policy or call your insurer. Most families otherwise pay out of pocket.
How to Find Respite Care
Get started with these free tools and agencies:
ARCH National Respite Locator. ARCH operates a service to assist caregivers and professionals to locate respite in their community.
Eldercare Locator and your local Area Agency on Aging. These link older adults and caregivers to local services, such as adult day programs.
Your loved one's doctor, social worker or hospice team. Often they know trusted providers.
VA Caregiver Support Coordinator. Every VA medical center has one for qualifying veterans and family.
Questions to Ask a Respite Care Provider
Are staff licensed, trained, and background checked?
Do you have experience working with my loved one’s condition, like dementia?
What do you do if a staff member can't make it?
What is the cost, and what are the minimum hours and extra charges?
Can we do a trial visit before I take a longer break?
Getting the Most Out of Your Break
Researchers have found that the activities of caregivers during respite can affect how much it helps. Some simple habits that help make the time count:
Schedule the break in advance so the hours don’t vanish into chores.
Find one thing that restores you: sleep, exercise, a friend, a hobby.
Meet the substitute caregiver first and leave clear notes on routines, medications and emergency contacts.
Begin with short breaks and build up, so you and your loved one get used to them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is respite care covered by Medicare? For hospice patients only. Medicare will cover respite care stays up to 5 consecutive days at a time (usually with 5 percent coinsurance) for inpatient care arranged by the hospice team. It does not cover respite care for non-hospice people.
How long can you stay in respite care? Depends on the program and who pays. Medicare hospice respite is limited to 5 consecutive days/stay. When you pay yourself, the length of stay can be longer, from a day to several weeks, depending on availability.
What is the daily or hourly cost of respite care? The national median rates are $35/hour for non-medical in-home care and $95/day for adult day health care. These numbers can vary widely based on local prices and amount of care needed, so get quotes from providers in your area.
Does the VA offer respite care? Yes, for qualifying veterans. According to the VA, eligible veterans can receive respite care for up to 30 days per year. To verify eligibility and current rules, call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274.
What is the difference between respite care and adult day care? The goal is respite care, a break from the caregiver. One way of doing this is adult day care which is a supervised daytime program with meals and activities for the care recipient and also provides free time for the caregiver.
What’s Next
Part of caring well is to step away. Respite care can take many forms, from a few hours of informal help to a short stay in a facility, and costs and coverage vary widely. Medicare only covers hospice respite, so look into the VA, your state, and your local Area Agency on Aging for other help. Your next step: check out the ARCH National Respite Locator to see what’s available in your area.
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