Respite care means someone else takes over the caregiving for a while — a few hours, a weekend, or long enough for a family caregiver to go away. It is a service, not a favour, and in New York there are several ways to have it paid for.
This page covers what respite actually includes, the four routes to funding it, and how to arrange it here in the city.
What respite care covers
Two forms, and the difference matters when you ask for it:
In-home respite. An aide or nurse comes to the house and does what the family caregiver normally does — bathing, dressing, meals, medication reminders, supervision. The person receiving care stays where they are. This is what most families want and the easier of the two to arrange.
Out-of-home respite. The person goes somewhere else for the period — an adult day programme for the daytime, or a residential facility for a few days. Useful when the caregiver needs to travel, harder to arrange at short notice.
Respite is defined by its purpose, not by the tasks. The same aide doing the same work is “home care” when it supplements the family and “respite” when it replaces them so they can rest.
Who pays
| Route | Who it covers | What you pay | How fast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicaid via managed long-term care plan | People on Medicaid with authorised home care hours | Nothing | Days if hours exist, weeks if they need increasing |
| Medicare hospice benefit | Only people enrolled in hospice | 5% of the Medicare-approved amount, capped at the inpatient deductible | Arranged by the hospice team |
| VA | Veterans enrolled in VA health care who need help with daily activities | Usually nothing; varies by location | Home respite sooner, nursing home respite needs booking ahead |
| Private payment | Anyone | Hourly rate | Days |
| Regular Medicare without hospice | Nobody — it does not cover respite | — | — |
Medicaid, through a managed long-term care plan
For most New Yorkers on Medicaid, home care hours — including hours used as respite — come through a Managed Long-Term Care plan. The number of hours is set by an assessment of what the person can and cannot do for themselves, not by what the family asks for.
Two practical consequences. First, if the authorised hours already cover the day, respite is a matter of scheduling them differently, not of getting more. Second, if they do not, the route to more hours is a reassessment through the plan — and if that is refused, a fair hearing.
People slightly over the Medicaid income limit are not automatically excluded: a pooled income trust or a spend-down arrangement can bring them within it. Those are separate processes, and they take time.
Medicare, only through hospice
Regular Medicare does not pay for respite care. The one exception is hospice: when someone is enrolled in the Medicare hospice benefit and the hospice team arranges a short inpatient respite stay, Medicare covers it.
It is not free. Medicare’s own guidance on hospice care coverage says you may pay 5% of the Medicare-approved amount for inpatient respite care, and that this copayment cannot exceed the inpatient deductible amount.
This catches families out regularly. A parent on Medicare with no hospice enrolment and no Medicaid has no Medicare route to respite, however exhausted the caregiver is.
The VA, for enrolled veterans
The VA runs respite care as part of its health benefits, in both forms: someone comes to the veteran’s home or the veteran attends an adult day health care programme, and separately, a short nursing home stay so the family can travel.
Eligibility is framed around need, not diagnosis: veterans who need help with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing or preparing meals, and veterans who are isolated or whose caregiver is carrying too much.
The VA does not publish a single national limit on how much respite a veteran can use, and states plainly that services vary by location. If you read a specific number of days somewhere, check it against your own VA medical center before planning around it. Nursing home respite in particular should be booked in advance.
Paying privately
The fourth route is simply hiring it — private home care, paid directly. No assessment, no eligibility, no waiting for an authorisation — you decide the hours and they happen. For a caregiver who needs a specific weekend covered next month, this is often the only route that moves fast enough.
How long each route takes
The honest answer families rarely get up front:
- Private hire — days, sometimes the same week.
- Existing Medicaid hours, rescheduled — days, once the plan agrees.
- More Medicaid hours — weeks, because it needs a reassessment.
- Medicaid from scratch — months, because it starts with the application itself.
- VA respite — depends on the medical center; nursing home respite needs advance booking.
If the caregiver is the one who is failing
Respite is usually discussed as a convenience. It is not. The people who end up needing it most are the ones least likely to ask.
Signs that the arrangement is running out of road: the caregiver has stopped going to their own medical appointments, is sleeping in the same room to catch night-time wandering, has given up work they intended to keep, or is losing their temper in ways that frighten them afterwards.
When a family caregiver collapses, the person they were caring for usually ends up in a facility — the outcome everyone was trying to avoid. Respite is what prevents that, and it works best booked early and regularly rather than as an emergency.
Arranging it in New York City
Start with the route that matches your situation rather than the one that sounds cheapest:
- Already on Medicaid with home care hours? Call the plan’s case manager. Ask specifically whether current hours can be rescheduled for respite, and if not, request a reassessment.
- On Medicaid without home care? The hours have to be authorised first. That begins with an assessment, not with an agency.
- Veteran enrolled with the VA? Ask the VA social worker or primary care team about respite. They arrange the clinical assessment.
- In hospice? Ask the hospice team. Respite is part of the benefit and they arrange it.
- None of the above, or you need it soon? Private hire through a licensed agency.
We are a licensed home care agency in Brooklyn and Queens, licence #2572L001 from the New York State Department of Health. We provide in-home respite privately and through plans we work with. If you are not sure which route applies to you, call (718) 232-2777 or use the form on our contact page. A coordinator will work it out with you, and the call costs nothing.
Frequently asked questions
What is respite care?
Temporary care that replaces the usual family caregiver so they can rest. It can be an aide coming to the home, an adult day programme, or a short stay in a facility. The care itself is ordinary care; what makes it respite is that it is covering for someone.
Who pays for respite care in New York?
Four routes: Medicaid through a managed long-term care plan, Medicare only when the person is in hospice, the VA for enrolled veterans, and private payment. Regular Medicare without hospice does not cover it.
Does Medicare cover respite care?
Only through the hospice benefit. When a hospice team arranges short-term inpatient respite, Medicare covers the stay; the patient may pay 5% of the Medicare-approved amount, capped at the inpatient deductible.
How many hours of respite does Medicaid allow?
There is no fixed number. Hours come from the assessment of what the person can do for themselves, and they are authorised by the managed care plan. If the authorised hours are not enough, the route is a reassessment and, if refused, a fair hearing.
Can a family member be paid to provide respite?
Under CDPAP a consumer hires their own personal assistants, and a second one can be brought on as backup for when the main caregiver is unavailable. Spouses and the designated representative cannot be hired as paid assistants.
How quickly can respite start?
Privately, within days. Through Medicaid, it depends on whether hours already exist: rescheduling existing hours is quick, getting new ones needs a reassessment and takes weeks.
Where can I read more about the care itself?
Our pages on in-home care, live-in care and Alzheimer’s care describe what an aide or nurse actually does on a shift. Respite uses the same services; only the purpose differs.
Is respite care only for the elderly?
No. It is used by families caring for children with disabilities and for adults of any age who need help with daily activities. The funding routes differ, but the service is the same idea.
Coverage rules change. The Medicare and VA details above were checked against medicare.gov and va.gov on 25 September 2026. Confirm your own eligibility with your plan, your VA medical center or your hospice team.
