Some government and insurance programs pay family or friends to help with daily activities, including personal care, administering medications, cooking, cleaning, and more.
Medicaid self-directed programs
If your loved one already receives Medicaid (including dually eligible), your state may allow you to become a paid caregiver.
Many states call this a consumer-directed personal assistance program (CDPAP). Each state has different requirements and rules, which are too numerous to cover here. Contact your state’s Medicaid office for more information (click on the HOW TO contact your state link and scroll to find your state).
For more information on the process and requirements of personal assistant services (PAS), visit Medicaid Self-Directed Personal Assistant Services.
Long-term care insurance
Some, but not all, long-term care insurance policies allow family members to get paid as caregivers. You must contact your loved one's long-term insurance company directly and ask for a written confirmation of benefits and guidance on this process.
Veterans programs
There are two programs available for veterans to potentially pay family caregivers.
The Veteran-Directed Home and Community-Based Services program offers veterans a flexible budget that, with the help of a counselor, may be used to hire a family member to help with daily living and activities.
The Aid and Attendance Benefits program provides monthly payments in addition to a monthly VA pension for qualified veterans and survivors. These benefits help cover the costs of a caregiver, who may be a family member.
For more information on program qualifications, and requirements for becoming a paid caregiver, contact the VA Pension Management Center for your state (scroll to locate your state under one of the Pension Management Centers listed).
Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans
Unfortunately, neither provides paid family caregiver benefits.
In many cases, Medicare Advantage plans will offer some level of coverage for professional caregiving services.
Employer-paid leave programs, other state programs
Currently, very few of these programs exist, though check with your employer (and even your state Department of Labor) on what may be available. For example, California is a beacon for family caregiving with its Paid Family Leave Act and Family Caregiver Services program, though other states also offer some form of compensation, benefits, or support to family caregivers.
Freedom Care
FreedomCare has gained a lot of attention as a new method of in-home care. FreedomCare is funded by Medicaid and is currently available in seven states.
New York
Nevada
Missouri
Pennsylvania
Arizona
Indiana
Georgia
FeeedomCare specializes in helping family caregivers get set up and get paid for the care they provide. Because this service is funded by Medicaid, Medicaid rules and regulations apply, but FreedomCare helps you navigate them, ideally making the process easier for you from eligibility to a check in hand.
Another resource
Family Caregiver Alliance offers a useful Service by State tool for starting to research whether your state offers paid family caregiver programs, as well as a State-by-State Caregiver Data Report for insight into data points like the cost of care in each state, as well as the presence or absence of caregiver friendly policies.
