Kaiser Health News asks why some seniors turn down health care services at home.

Many seniors and caregivers confuse home health care with “home care” delivered by aides who help people shower or get dressed or who cook, clean and serve as a companion. The two types of services are not the same: Home health care is delivered by medical professionals; home care is not. Nor is home care covered by Medicare, for the most part.

This was the mistake Winstel’s father made. He thought he was being offered an aide who would come to his apartment every day for several hours. “I don’t want a babysitter,” he complained to Winstel, chief operating officer of the Caregiver Action Network.

Like many other seniors, this older man was proud of living on his own and didn’t want to become dependent on anyone.

“Older adults are quite concerned about their independence, and they worry that this might be the first step in someone trying to take that away,” said Dr. Leslie Kernisan, a San Francisco geriatrician and creator of the website Better Health While Aging.

Get the whole story at www.khn.org