Paid Family Caregiver Programs

Find paid family caregiver programs in your state.

People with disabilities want to know if family members can be paid to provide assistance to them. Family members of PAS users also wonder about the same thing, especially family members that have left work, or stopped looking for work due to the need to provide assistance.

The federal Medicaid program is the largest payer of PAS, but occasionally a state program provides payment, too. Federal Medicaid has become more flexible around allowing family members to be paid providers, but it is entirely up to the states whether to choose this option. States get to choose whether, and how, to pay family members to assist family, but federal Medicaid rules generally do not allow spouses to be paid to assist spouses or parents of minor children to assist their children.

There are exceptions to the general rule mentioned above prohibiting spouses being paid to assist spouses and parents being paid for care of their minor children. States can create their own more generous rules that bypass the general limitations to paying family mentioned above. States like Minnesota have passed special state laws to get past the federal limitations. States may also offer "cash and counseling" Medicaid Waivers [1915(j) Waiver] to get beyond the federal limits to paying family. These options allow payment to almost anyone regardless of familial or legal status, but they are not used that often.

Each state sets up its own rules and standards for who is allowed to provide PAS. Each state also has its own rules for what tasks are allowed to be provided and whether training and certification or licensure is required. Most states restrict "health related tasks". These typically are required to be performed, or overseen, by registered nurses. Because of these state-by-state differences, family member payment options must be verified for each state and for each program within the state.

The PAS Center has provided a brief description of the Medicaid programs within each state that allow some kind of family member payment. Contact information for these programs is included, as well. Every effort has been made to be clear and up to date. However, programs and their rules change all the time. Interested parties are encouraged to contact state officials directly to seek information and answers to questions about specific situations.

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