Question 1

What is non-medical home care?

Accepted Answer

Non-medical home care is help with daily life at home: bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, meals, steadying on the move, housekeeping, errands, transport and companionship. It does not include nursing, therapy or any clinical service.

Question 2

What services do you offer?

Accepted Answer

We provide personal care, companion care, meal preparation, light housekeeping, transportation to appointments and errands, medication reminders, respite care, recovery care after a hospital stay, and steady day-to-day support for someone living with dementia. We do not provide VA-funded home care or a veterans-specific program. A veteran can still use Kinstead privately; for VA benefits and respite programs, call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274.

Question 3

How quickly can you start?

Accepted Answer

After a hospital discharge we can usually start within 24 hours. For a non-urgent start we normally begin within a few days of the free home visit.

Question 4

Which towns do you serve?

Accepted Answer

We serve every town in Middlesex and Norfolk counties, excluding Boston. Our local guides currently cover Lexington, Burlington, Newton, Concord, Cambridge, Arlington, Waltham, Belmont, Lincoln, Watertown, Winchester, Bedford, Wilmington, Wellesley, Weston, Woburn, but that list does not limit our service area. Outside the two counties is never an automatic no — call us to verify coverage.

Question 5

Are home care agencies licensed in Massachusetts?

Accepted Answer

Not yet, in practice. Massachusetts signed a home care licensure law on August 7, 2026, but the regulations that will put it into effect have not been written, so no non-medical home care agency in the state holds a license under it today. Until they do, non-medical agencies operate as registered businesses, separate from the licensed home health agencies that provide clinical care. What we can show you: business registration, liability insurance, bonding, workers' compensation, and the background checks on every caregiver. Anyone telling you they are already state-licensed for non-medical home care in Massachusetts is telling you something that is not yet possible.

Question 6

What care will you not provide?

Accepted Answer

We do not provide: two-person or mechanical-lift transfers; feeding anyone with a swallowing risk, and never by tube; nursing, therapy, wound care, injections or medication administration; any case that needs more than one trained caregiver can safely manage. If a household needs more than that, we will say so and point you toward the right kind of provider.

Question 7

Do you offer 24-hour care?

Accepted Answer

We cover long days and overnight hours by scheduling caregivers in shifts, so nobody is working beyond a safe stretch. Continuous round-the-clock cover depends on caregiver availability in your town, so ask on the call.

Question 8

Do you manage medications?

Accepted Answer

No. Kinstead does not manage medications. Our caregivers follow the schedule the doctor set, notice when something looks different, and report it to the family the same day.

Question 9

So what does a caregiver actually do at the right hour?

Accepted Answer

They give a reminder at the hour on the prescriber's written schedule, record what happened, and call the family the same day if the pattern changes. They do not administer, dispense or change anything.

Question 10

How much does home care cost in Massachusetts?

Accepted Answer

Our rate is $42 an hour on weekdays and $45 an hour on weekends, with no minimum contract and no sign-up fee. You get a written plan with the hours and the cost before care starts. See the full cost page.

Question 11

Does Medicare pay for home care?

Accepted Answer

No. Medicare does not pay for non-medical home care. Most families pay privately, and some use long-term care insurance.

Question 12

Can I use long-term care insurance?

Accepted Answer

Often yes. Most long-term care policies cover non-medical home care once the policy's benefit conditions are met. We can provide the visit records and invoices insurers usually ask for. Check the wording of the policy first.

Question 13

Do you accept MassHealth?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. Kinstead is private pay at the moment. Working with MassHealth is something we intend to offer later, and it is not available today.

Question 14

Will we get the same caregiver each visit?

Accepted Answer

That is how we schedule. One caregiver is matched to a household and kept there, with a named backup you have met for holidays and sick days.

Question 15

What if we don't click with our caregiver?

Accepted Answer

Fit matters more than credentials. If a caregiver isn't right for your parent — for any reason, including one you'd rather not explain — tell us and we'll change the match within 24 hours. No awkwardness and no explanation needed. A mismatch is a scheduling problem, not anyone's fault.

Question 16

Are caregivers employees or contractors?

Accepted Answer

Employees. Every Kinstead caregiver is a W-2 employee of Kinstead Home Care LLC. Payroll, taxes, workers' compensation, bonding and liability insurance are ours to carry, not yours.

Question 17

What background checks do you run?

Accepted Answer

A Massachusetts CORI check, a national multi-state background check, identity and right-to-work verification, reference checks with previous care employers, and an in-person interview with the owner.

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Middlesex & Norfolk counties