The short answer
An AI receptionist for home health care agencies built on HighLevel Voice AI costs about $0.32 per answered call, or $80 a month for 250 calls averaging 4 minutes, phone line included. Roughly 75 of those calls (30%) would come outside office hours, which is where an AI answering service earns its keep. Emergencies, complaints and anything needing judgment should go to a person.
What the AI should handle
Take family inquiries
Collect the caller's name and relationship, the care recipient's city, the general type of help needed and a callback time, then book an intake call with a coordinator.
Capture referral details
Record the referring facility, planner name, callback number and requested start date, then alert intake immediately. The agent never accepts a referral or confirms admission.
Log caregiver call-outs
Identify the caregiver, the shift and the client's initials, confirm the call-out is logged, and trigger the scheduler alert workflow, including overnight and at weekends.
Screen job applicants
Ask applicants about certifications, availability and the areas they can travel to, then book an interview and text the application link.
What to send to a person
- Clinical questions about a patient's condition or care plan
- Accepting referrals and admission decisions
- Coverage and eligibility decisions
- Complaints or safety concerns about a visit
HighLevel's voice agents can transfer a live call, create a task, or trigger a workflow that texts the owner. Set the handoff rules before the agent goes live.
Cost per call and per month
Assumptions for a typical home health agency: 250 calls a month answered by the AI, averaging 4 minutes. Phone minutes are billed per call and rounded up, so each call bills 4 phone minutes at $0.01165.
| Setup | AI cost | Phone line | Per month | Per call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay per use, Standard voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $68.00 | $11.65 | $80 | $0.32 |
| Pay per use, ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $88.00 | $11.65 | $100 | $0.40 |
| Pay per use, speech-to-speech (OpenAI) | $200.00 | $11.65 | $212 | $0.85 |
| AI Employee Unlimited, $97 flat | $97.00 | $11.65 | $109 | $0.43 |
The breakdown of every Voice AI charge is in our Voice AI pricing guide. Agencies can price this as a monthly service with the calculator's Price a client tab, preloaded for a home health agency.
Compared with staff time
Those 250 calls take about 17 hours of talk time a month. At the US median receptionist wage of $18.27 an hour (May 2025, Bureau of Labor Statistics), that talk time alone is worth about $305, before hold time, breaks, benefits and the calls that come in after hours. An AI receptionist does not replace a good front desk; it catches the overflow and the evenings, and frees staff for the people in front of them.
Sample call
AI AGENTThank you for calling Hearthstone Home Health. I'm the agency's AI assistant. How can I help?
CALLERMy dad is coming home from the hospital Friday, and the discharge planner gave me your name.
AI AGENTI can set up a call with our intake coordinator today. What's your name, and what's your relationship to your father?
CALLERI'm Lisa, his daughter.
AI AGENTThanks, Lisa. Which hospital is he at, and do you know the discharge planner's name?
CALLERSt. Mary's, and her name is Karen.
AI AGENTGot it. Our coordinator, Paul, can call you at 2:30 p.m. today. Is this the best number?
CALLERYes, this one.
AI AGENTGreat. Paul will call at 2:30, and I'm texting you a short list of what to have ready, like insurance cards and the discharge paperwork.
Prompt tips
- Tip 1Tell the agent to identify the caller type first, whether family, referral source, caregiver or applicant, and give each type its own short script.
- Tip 2Write the call-out path in detail: who the agent alerts, how fast, and what it tells the caregiver, since a missed shift affects a client the same day.
- Tip 3Forbid the agent from confirming whether someone is a current client to any unverified caller, and route those questions to staff.
Rules to watch
Families and personal representatives. HHS says a person with legal authority to make health care decisions for a patient, such as a guardian or someone holding a health care power of attorney, is generally treated as the patient under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Other relatives are not automatically. Have the AI take messages rather than discuss an existing client's care.
HIPAA and the HighLevel add-on. Home health agencies that bill Medicare or insurers electronically are HIPAA covered entities. If client names, visit times and care notes go into HighLevel, plan for its $297 a month HIPAA package with a business associate agreement, and keep care plans in the clinical system.
Outbound AI calls need consent. The FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices are artificial under the TCPA, so the consent rules for prerecorded calls apply. Get consent that covers AI calls before using outbound Voice AI for visit confirmations or family check-ins.
General information, not legal advice.
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Questions
Can an AI receptionist take hospital referrals?
What does an AI receptionist cost a home health agency?
Can the AI handle caregiver call-outs at night?
Can the AI talk to families about a current client's care?
Sources
- Personal representatives under HIPAA (HHS)
- Covered Entities and Business Associates (HHS)
- FCC makes AI-generated voices in robocalls illegal (Declaratory Ruling, Feb 8, 2024)
- HIPAA compliance with HighLevel (help center)
- HighLevel pricing page
- HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
- HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
- AI Voice Agents overview
- HighLevel Phone System pricing and billing guide
- BLS Occupational Outlook: Receptionists (May 2025 pay)