Private caregiver or home care agency? An honest answer for families.
It is a difficult decision many families face, and most of what you will read about it online is written by agencies. Hallmark Homecare Louisville is a referral agency, and we would like to share what that means for you and your family. Thank you for taking the time to read our answers to the questions we are asked most often.
Should I hire a private caregiver or use an agency?
Choose a private caregiver through a referral agency when you want to choose the person, keep the same caregiver, and have far more of what you pay reach the caregiver; choose a home care agency when you would rather the agency pick, supervise and replace the caregiver and are comfortable with a rotating roster. Through Hallmark, we recruit and screen experienced caregivers and present them; you interview, choose, and the caregiver works for you. The comparison below is side by side, with the arguments agencies make and our honest answers.
One family’s verdict, after several companies.
“…Hallmark is the best that I’ve found, so far. Shane understood what we needed…”
An agency, someone you find on your own, or a private caregiver through Hallmark.
A home care agency
The agency employs the caregiver. At many agencies the office assigns the staff, sets the schedule within its staffing, and handles the payroll. You receive a service, and the caregiver works for the agency — so when the agency’s schedule changes, the face at your door often does too.
Someone you find on your own
A friend of a friend, a neighbor’s recommendation, an online listing. You choose the person and set the terms — and you carry everything else: the screening, the backup when the caregiver is sick, the insurance, the paperwork and the taxes, and the search that starts over if it does not work out.
A private caregiver through Hallmark
We recruit and screen experienced caregivers and present candidates whose experience and availability fit. You interview, you choose, and you engage the caregiver directly — the caregiver works for you, not us. We cover our placements with liability insurance and occupational accident insurance. Weekly billing runs through a secure third-party billing platform, and the year-end tax form is issued for you.
“Agencies do good work for many families. The difference is structural — who the caregiver works for — and it shapes everything else.”
The same questions, asked of all three.
Ask these of any agency you call, of anyone you might engage on your own, and of us.
Swipe sideways to see all three columns →
| A home care agency | Someone you find on your own | A private caregiver through Hallmark | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who the caregiver works for | The agency. | You. | You. The caregivers we refer work directly for you, not us. |
| Who chooses the caregiver | The agency typically assigns staff. | You — from whoever you can find. | You interview the candidates we present and decide. |
| Who sets the schedule and the tasks | Usually the agency, within its staffing. | You. | You do — and you can change it as needs change. |
| Screening before day one | Handled by the agency. | Whatever you arrange yourself. | Background checks, credential verification and reference checks are completed before any caregiver is referred to your family. |
| Insurance | Ask what the agency carries, and whom it covers. | Whatever you arrange yourself. | We cover our placements with liability insurance and occupational accident insurance. |
| Continuity | Staff often rotate as the agency’s schedule requires. | Depends on the person or team you found. | A caregiver you chose, who is paid properly, is more likely to stay — higher continuity of care. |
| When your caregiver is away | Often whoever the agency has available. | You start the search again. | Tell us and we will present other experienced caregivers who are available. You decide who comes. |
| What the caregiver can do | Capped by the agency’s license category. | Whatever that person is competent to do. | The caregiver works to their own level of competency, under the direction of your care manager or nurse when needed. |
| Taxes and paperwork | Handled by the agency. | Yours to handle. | Weekly billing through a secure third-party platform; you do nothing at tax time — the caregiver’s year-end 1099 is issued for you. |
| Where the money goes | The agency pays its staff from what you pay it. | All of it to the caregiver — and all of the work to you. | You agree on a rate with our fee already included; the caregiver receives the rate they agreed to. More of what you pay reaches the caregiver. |
The arguments against a private caregiver — and our honest answers.
Agencies often make the same case: they handle the taxes, the scheduling and the supervision, and they can send someone else when a caregiver is out. Each point deserves a real answer.
Not you.
Each Tuesday you are billed for the prior week through a secure third-party billing platform, which pays the caregiver the rate they agreed to. You do nothing at tax time — the caregiver’s year-end 1099 is issued for you.
Tell us, and we present other candidates.
If your caregiver is away and you want a substitute, tell us and we will present other experienced caregivers who are available. You decide who comes — you are not handed whoever is next on a list. For overnight or around-the-clock care, a small, steady team is what the model is built for.
You do — and that is the point.
No one from an office stands between you and the caregiver. You set the tasks, you change them as needs change, and the caregiver answers to you. When the situation calls for clinical direction, the caregivers we refer work under the direction of your care manager or nurse, to their own level of competency. The person who knows your loved one best is the one directing the care.
A private caregiver through Hallmark is not a stranger from a listing.
Experienced caregivers, recruited and screened before anyone is presented to you. Other candidates to choose from when your caregiver is away, or when the first match is not the right one. A real person who answers days, nights and weekends. That is what you receive that a word-of-mouth hire does not.
That is not the promise.
You agree on a rate — the rate you are quoted is all you pay, with our fee already included. The difference is where the money goes: more of what you pay reaches the caregiver. You’re not paying less. You’re paying for an experienced caregiver who is paid properly, chosen by you, and answerable to you — and who is therefore more likely to stay.
What you receive that a word-of-mouth hire does not.
- Experienced caregivers, recruited and screened before anyone is presented to you — with their background and experience in hand.
- Other candidates to choose from when your caregiver is away, or when the first match is not the right one.
- Weekly billing through a secure third-party platform.
- A real person who answers days, nights and weekends.
- The provider forms your long-term care carrier asks us for, completed — and the paid invoices it needs, produced each week.
“He has really bailed us out when a different caregiver, not affiliated with Hallmark, either didn’t show up or in one case just left! We called Shane, at night, asking for help. We had a caregiver within ONE HOUR!!!”
Three things change when the caregiver works for you.
More experienced caregivers
Because more of what you pay reaches the caregiver, private arrangements attract seasoned professionals — people who have done this work for years and chose to keep doing it on their own terms. We present candidates with their background and experience; you interview and decide.
Higher continuity of care
The same caregiver, day after day. A caregiver who is paid properly, chosen by you and answerable to you is far more likely to stay — so your loved one is not meeting a new face every week.
More comprehensive care
The caregivers we refer work to their own level of competency. Many can support medication reminders and other everyday health tasks under the direction of your care manager or nurse, and when a situation calls for a licensed nurse, we can present one.
Private caregivers in Louisville, explained → · See every kind of care →
Hallmark facilitates. You decide.
Hallmark
We answer the phone — a real person, days, nights and weekends — recruit and screen experienced caregivers, present candidates whose experience and availability fit what you tell us, and help coordinate getting started, weekly billing and year-end tax forms. If you have a long-term care insurance policy, we complete the provider forms your carrier asks us for, and make sure the paid invoices your carrier needs are produced each week — the claim stays yours. And we tell you honestly, and quickly, when we cannot help in time.
Your family
You interview and choose the caregiver, and engage them directly — the caregiver works for you, not us. You set the schedule and the tasks, and direct the day-to-day care. You own the plan of care, with the clinicians you work with; we do not assess your loved one or write it. And you decide whether to continue — at any time, for any reason.
Families who looked at the alternatives.
“I reached out to Hallmark Homecare and several others and was extremely impressed with Shane’s… approach… His follow-up and proactive communication instilled the confidence my family needed in this challenging time.”
“We connected with Shane at Hallmark after a couple of mis-steps in our search to find care for our mother… He connected us with the perfect caregiver. The result has been a safer, higher quality of life for our mother.”
Private caregiver or agency, answered.
Is the caregiver an employee of Hallmark?
No. The caregivers we refer work directly for you, not us — you engage the caregiver directly as an independent professional. As a referral agency, we recruit, screen, and present candidates for you to choose from, and we help coordinate scheduling, billing and paperwork so it's simple for you.
Does a private caregiver cost less than an agency?
That is not the promise. You agree on a rate — the rate you are quoted is all you pay, with our fee already included. The difference is where the money goes: more of what you pay reaches the caregiver. You’re not paying less. You’re paying for an experienced caregiver who is paid properly, chosen by you, and answerable to you — and who is therefore more likely to stay.
Who handles taxes and paperwork?
Each Tuesday you are billed for the prior week through a secure third-party billing platform, which pays the caregiver the rate they agreed to. You do nothing at tax time — the caregiver’s year-end 1099 is issued for you.
What if the caregiver is unavailable, or it is not the right fit?
Because you choose the caregiver, you are always in control. If someone is not the right match, or your caregiver is away and you want a substitute, tell us and we will present other experienced caregivers who are available. You can end service at any time and for any reason; we simply ask for as much notice as you can give, as a courtesy to the caregivers.
How quickly can care start?
Often the same day. Families reaching us after a hospital discharge or a sudden change have had experienced caregivers in place within hours. Call and tell us the situation — we will be straight with you about what is possible.
Can long-term care insurance pay for a private caregiver?
Often, yes. Many long-term care policies reimburse care from a caregiver you engage through Hallmark. We take care of the provider side — the provider forms your carrier asks us for, and the paid invoices you submit; understanding your own policy and working with your carrier stay with you. Call us to get started.
Ask us the hard questions.
Call and talk it through with a real person — days, nights and weekends. If we cannot help in time, we will tell you.
Call (502) 546-7765