Home care · Silver Bow County, MT
Home care in Silver Bow County
Of the 35,000 people in Silver Bow County, about 6,880 are 65 or older — one in five residents. Most of them intend to stay in their own homes, and most of the care that makes that possible happens quietly, in living rooms, without anyone calling it "long-term care."
Below is what we'd tell a friend in Silver Bow County: what care costs here, who provides it, what the facility alternative actually looks like, and which programs pay.
Silver Bow County, in numbers
Full Montana guide →Residents 65+
6,879
19.5% of the county.
Live with a disability
19.4%
About 6,702 people — the population most likely to need help at home.
Median household income
$58,898
20 hrs/week of care would run about 67% of it.
Certified agencies
4
Medicare-certified home health agencies serving local ZIPs; 4 rated, averaging 3★.
Sources: CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 (ACS 2018–2022), County Health Rankings 2024, and CMS Care Compare provider files.
What home care costs in Silver Bow County
Montana's going rate for agency home care is around $38/hr. Twenty hours a week — four hours a day, five days a week, the most common schedule families start with — comes to roughly $3,300 a month, or $39,500 a year.
Median household income in Silver Bow County is $58,898, so that schedule would consume about 67% of a typical household's entire income. This is the number that sends most families looking for help paying, and it is why the programs below matter more than any brochure.
25.1% of people in Silver Bow County live below 150% of the federal poverty line — a share high enough that a real portion of local families will qualify for Montana's Medicaid programs rather than pay privately. If money is the obstacle, start with eligibility, not with rates.
Who provides care in Silver Bow County
4 Medicare-certified home health agencies serve ZIP codes in Silver Bow County. 4 of them carry a CMS quality star rating, averaging 3 out of 5. 4 report offering home health aide services.
One distinction worth getting straight before you call anyone: those are Medicare-certified home health agencies — skilled, doctor-ordered, intermittent care, usually a nurse or therapist visiting for a few weeks after a hospital stay. That is not the same as the hourly, non-medical help most families are actually looking for: bathing, dressing, meals, driving, company. Medicare pays for the first. It does not pay for the second.
The alternative, locally
Silver Bow County has 4 certified nursing homes holding 449 certified beds, averaging 4.2 out of 5 on CMS's overall rating. About 257 people live in them on an average day.
An average of 4.2 stars is above the Montana average of 2.88. If a facility does turn out to be the right answer for your family, the options here are better than most counties in the state.
That is about 65 beds per 1,000 residents over 65 — well above typical, so Silver Bow County is a county where families get pushed toward facility care early, often before it is necessary. It is worth pricing out what staying home would actually take before agreeing to a move.
The Montana programs that pay for care at home
- Big Sky Waiver
- Community First Choice / Personal Care Services
Montana runs 2 Medicaid pathways that pay for care at home instead of a nursing home. Each has its own income, asset, and care-need rules, and approval takes weeks to months — so the application is worth starting before the need becomes urgent.
How each Montana program works →Caregiver training in MT
91 hrs
Minimum for certified aides — above the 75-hour federal floor. MT does not license non-medical agencies, so vet carefully.
Choosing an agency in Silver Bow County
- Vet twice as hard. Montana does not license non-medical home care agencies, which means anyone can hang a shingle. Ask who runs background checks, whether caregivers are W-2 employees or contractors, whether the agency carries liability and workers' comp, and who supervises the caregiver you'd get.
- Ask what the rate covers. Around $38/hr is typical in Montana. A real agency's rate covers a trained, background-checked, insured caregiver plus supervision and backup staffing when your regular person is sick. A rate well under the local range usually means one of those is missing.
- Start the clock early. Silver Bow County is served by 4 certified agencies, so the honest answer to "when can you start?" is often two to three weeks. If you're planning around a discharge date, call before the discharge, not after.
- Ask about Medicaid now, not later. If money is going to be the constraint, ask about Big Sky Waiver at the first call. Approval takes weeks to months, and private pay is what bridges the gap — so the sooner the application starts, the smaller that bridge is.
Want to talk it through?
We provide care in the Milwaukee, WI area — but we’re glad to help any family think through the options in Silver Bow County.
Silver Bow County home care questions, answered
How much does home care cost in Silver Bow County, MT?
Agency home care in Montana runs around $38/hr for private pay. At 20 hours a week that is about $3,300 a month. For context, median household income in Silver Bow County is $58,898. Rates move with the level of care and the schedule — short daily visits cost more per hour than long shifts.
Does Medicare pay for home care in Silver Bow County?
Medicare pays for skilled home health — a nurse or therapist, doctor-ordered, for a limited stretch, usually after a hospital stay. 4 Medicare-certified agencies serve Silver Bow County. Medicare does not pay for the hourly, non-medical help most families want — bathing, dressing, meals, driving, company. For that, the money comes from private pay, long-term care insurance, VA benefits, or Montana Medicaid.
Does Medicaid pay for home care in Silver Bow County?
Yes — for people who qualify. Montana runs Medicaid programs that pay for care at home instead of a nursing home: Big Sky Waiver, Community First Choice / Personal Care Services. Income, asset, and care-need rules apply, and approval usually takes weeks to months, so apply before you need it. With 25.1% of Silver Bow County below 150% of the poverty line, a meaningful share of local families do qualify.
How are caregivers trained and vetted in Montana?
Certified home health aides in Montana complete at least 91 hours of training — above the 75-hour federal minimum. Montana does not license non-medical home care agencies, so the vetting falls to you: ask about background checks, insurance and bonding, and who supervises the caregivers.
Is home care better than a nursing home in Silver Bow County?
It depends on the level of care needed, not on which one sounds nicer. Silver Bow County's 4 certified facilities average 4.2 out of 5 stars on CMS ratings, against a Montana average of 2.88. Round-the-clock skilled nursing is something a facility does that home care cannot. But for help with bathing, meals, medication reminders, and company, care at home usually costs less and keeps someone in their own bed — and most people, asked plainly, say that is what they want.
Does Juniper at Home provide caregivers in Silver Bow County?
Not directly — our own caregivers serve the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin. This page is a free guide for Silver Bow County families: what care really costs here, who provides it, and which programs can help pay.
Bordering counties in Montana