How to verify a home-care agency
A professional website, a familiar name, or a reassuring phone call is not the same thing as verification. Families can check the agency’s legal name, license category and status, service scope, complaint information, worker standards, and other relevant details through official sources—and then ask whether the exact service, schedule, worker role, payer arrangement, and location they need are actually supported.
Start With the State
The Same Company Can Have Different Authority in Different States
Home-care licensing is state-specific. Confirm the state where care will actually be delivered and look up the agency under the correct state program.
Eden’s Maryland pathway is a Residential Service Agency. Eden’s Pennsylvania pathway is a Home Care Agency / Home Care Registry for non-skilled home care.
Maryland Verification
Verify the Residential Service Agency Through Maryland OHCQ
Maryland OHCQ lists the RSA complaint hotline as (800) 492-6005. Use the official OHCQ link below to check current contact information.
- Ask the agency for its current Maryland Residential Service Agency license information and legal business name.
- Review its advertising for the current RSA license number and the required statement: “Licensed as a residential service agency by the Maryland Department of Health, Office of Health Care Quality.”
- Confirm that the service being discussed is part of the agency’s actual current service scope—not merely a service another RSA might offer.
- Review the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality Residential Service Agencies information and current contact details.
- Ask how to use the OHCQ complaint process and keep the complaint hotline information with the client’s records.
- For nursing or medication-related questions, ask who provides the service, what assessment or orders are required, and how professional scope and competency are verified.
Pennsylvania Verification
Verify the HCA/HCR License and Understand the Non-Skilled Scope
- Use the Pennsylvania Department of Health home-care program information and facility/license lookup.
- Confirm the legal name, license type, location, and current license status.
- Ask whether the organization is a Home Care Agency, Home Care Registry, Home Health Agency, hospice, or another type of provider—the terms are not interchangeable.
- For an HCA/HCR, confirm that the requested service is non-skilled home care.
- Ask for the consumer service agreement, complaint information, worker-status disclosures, fees, schedule, and competency information required for the arrangement.
- Before services begin, Pennsylvania HCA/HCR consumers should receive a readable information packet identifying the services and worker, hours, fees and total costs, state licensing/complaint contacts, competency requirements, worker-status disclosure, and other required information.
- Pennsylvania consumer protections generally include at least 10 calendar days’ advance written notice before service termination, with narrower exceptions described in the regulation for serious payment delinquency or direct-care-worker health and safety risk.
The Chapter 611 complaint hotline listed for HCA/HCR consumer information is 1-866-826-3644. Check the current state contact information before relying on the number.
License Type vs Service
A License Name Does Not Answer Every Service Question
An agency may be legally licensed yet not offer every service permitted within that category. Staffing, competency, geographic coverage, payer participation, and current case capacity also matter.
Ask the agency to confirm the exact service—not just the general license type.
Payer and Program Verification
Licensure Is Not the Same as Insurance or Waiver Participation
These are separate questions. A license alone does not prove that a payer will cover the service or that the agency participates in a specific network.
- Private-pay acceptance
- Medicaid or waiver enrollment
- Managed-care organization contracting
- Participant eligibility
- Individual service authorization
- Long-term care insurance reimbursement requirements
- Veterans program authorization
Questions About Personnel
Verify the Person Assigned—not Only the Agency
- What role will the person have?
- What screening, training, certification, or license applies?
- Has the person demonstrated competency for the assigned tasks?
- Who supervises the work?
- How are incidents, missed shifts, complaints, and changes reported?
- What backup process exists when an assigned worker is unavailable?
Home Care Roles & Credentials
Warning Signs
Pause Before Agreeing When Information Is Unclear
- The agency will not identify its legal business name or license type.
- The company promises every service without asking the state or care needs.
- A Pennsylvania HCA/HCR claims it provides skilled nursing under the same non-skilled license.
- The agency guarantees insurance or waiver payment without checking the program and authorization.
- Workers are described with credentials that the agency will not verify.
- The organization asks for full medical records through an ordinary public form or text message.
- The agency cannot explain complaint, cancellation, privacy, or after-hours procedures.
Official Verification Resources
Use Current Government Sources
Maryland Office of Health Care Quality — Residential Service Agencies
Maryland Regulations — COMAR 10.07.05 Residential Service Agencies
Maryland OHCQ Licensee Directories
Pennsylvania Department of Health — Home Care Agencies and Registries
Pennsylvania Code — 28 Pa. Code Chapter 611
Pennsylvania Consumer Protections — 28 Pa. Code § 611.57
Pennsylvania Division of Home Health License Information
Because agency pages and phone numbers can change, use the official links on Eden’s Licensure & Compliance page and confirm the information at the time of your search.
Verify First, Then Ask About the Exact Service
Share the location and a general description of the support being considered. Eden will review the request and explain the appropriate next step.