How much does home care cost in BC?

Common questions about cost.

• Does VAC cover home care for veterans?

  Eligible Canadian veterans are often covered, sometimes in full, through VAC's Veterans Independence Program (VIP). We're a registered VAC provider, handle the paperwork, and direct-bill VAC for the covered portion; any remainder is billed to you separately.

• Will Pacific Blue Cross pay for this?

  Often, yes. Extended health plans (Pacific Blue Cross, Sun Life, Manulife, Green Shield, Canada Life, Medavie Blue Cross) typically cover home care up to a yearly maximum. We don't direct-bill these plans yet, so you pay your invoice on receipt and submit the itemized receipt to your insurer for reimbursement. It helps to call your insurer ahead of time for a pre-authorization or reference number; we'll include it on your invoice to support the claim. We walk through your specific policy with you on the 15-minute call so you know what's actually covered.

• What's the four-hour minimum?

  Each caregiver-led visit is at least four hours. It's the minimum-shift standard our caregivers are paid under, per BC labour standards for the kind of work home care involves. It's also a practical minimum: shorter visits don't let a caregiver settle in and do the work well. Most families schedule 4–6 hours per visit, and many schedule longer. Standalone RN visits for specific clinical tasks (wound dressing changes, IV flushes, injections) can be as short as one hour.

• When would I be charged the top rate of $75/hr?

  The $75/hr rate only applies when a Registered Nurse needs to perform a complex clinical task: wound care, IV therapy, tube management, the kind of skilled-nursing work that a caregiver isn't licensed for. For everyday caregiver-led care, the rate runs $41–$45/hr, with a $20/hr add-on for couple's care (the second person, not double). We give you a clear quote on the 15-minute call once we know which visits will be caregiver-led versus RN-led.

• Do I have to commit to a number of months?

  No. We're month to month. You can scale up, scale down, or stop with reasonable notice. We don't lock in long-term contracts.

• How does CSIL work with Salve?

  If you're approved for BC's Choice in Supports for Independent Living (CSIL) program, you receive funding from your health authority and become the employer: you hire and manage your own care team. There's no approved-provider list: you hire Salve directly, pay us from your CSIL funding, and we provide invoices for your CSIL records.

• What's the cancellation and change policy?

  Schedules change, and we work with you. For overall scaling up or down, we work from two-week blocks; that's how caregivers are scheduled. Tell us as soon as you know, and we adjust. For specific visit cancellations, we ask for at least 24 hours' notice; short-notice cancellations may incur a fee, since the caregiver is already routed and may have turned down other work. Urgent cases (a hospital admission, a fall, anything unforeseen) are exempt. Billing always follows the visits actually delivered.

• What do other BC home care agencies charge?

  Published BC figures put private home care at roughly $35 to $60 an hour (CareCompare, March 2026); a July 2026 Vancouver Island survey of 38 providers found a $52 average for standard visits, with overnight shifts around $400. Salve's $41 to $45 caregiver-led rate sits inside that band, published rather than quoted-on-request, with the $75 RN rate only where clinical work is needed.

• What does the government's home support cost?

  Subsidized home support is charged at a daily rate of your remaining annual income multiplied by 0.00138889, capped at $300 a month where you or your spouse have earned income, and free for people receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement, income or disability assistance, or a war veteran's allowance. It's arranged through your health authority after an assessment.

• Is home care cheaper than assisted living or a care home?

  For part-day help, yes: a few hours a day costs well under any facility's monthly rate. Subsidized assisted living charges 70% of after-tax income and subsidized long-term care runs between $1,507.70 and $4,142.60 a month at 2026 rates, so full 24-hour care at home costs more than a facility. The crossover, and everything around it, is in our care-options guide.