If a person with a disability is already receiving Medicaid, their state may allow a family member or friend to become a paid caregiver. All responding states pay family caregivers through one or more Medicaid Home Care near Bellflower CAHome Care near Bellflower CA programs (Figure 1, appendix table). Family caregivers are generally allowed to pay for personal care, which can be offered through several different types of Medicaid HCBS programs. Personal care can be provided through exemptions, such as 1115 or 1915 (c) programs, through the state Medicaid plan, or a combination of both. Exemption services tend to cover a wider range of benefits than state plan benefits, but exemptions are often restricted to specific groups of people enrolled in Medicaid depending on geographic region, income, or type of disability; and are often only available to a limited number of people, creating waiting lists.
The first step is to make sure your family member is eligible for Medicaid. You can visit the federal Medicaid site for information about your state's application process. Once your loved one is enrolled in Medicaid, you can contact your local Agency on Aging (AAA) to find out what payment programs are available to you. In some states, Medicaid can pay for family members who provide 24-hour supervision and care through the provision of structured family care (SFC). SFC is also known as foster care for adults, family life for adults, and coordinated care.
The caregiver doesn't have to be a family member, but usually an adult child who has taken the father or mother into their home or lives in their parents' home. Some states allow spouses to be CFS caregivers. The SFC is available in Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, and South Dakota. Medicaid coverage includes some type of consumer-oriented care option in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer-directed care gives a Medicaid recipient some control and decision-making power when it comes to their long-term care.
In many states, Medicaid recipients can hire and pay family members or friends as caregivers through Consumer Directed Care. By surrounding caregivers with a support team and providing them with resources and tools specific to each condition, your loved one benefits from better care in the comfort of their home. If you need personal care assistance, as is often the case with frail older people who live independently, the Medicaid beneficiary can use the consumer-oriented care option to hire and pay for a family member or loved one. State Medicaid plans, also called regular Medicaid, offer an option to become a paid caregiver for a loved one. The 1915 (j) Act not only allows states to donate cash to program participants who self-manage their own care through the state Medicaid plan, but also under a Medicaid exemption for home and community services.
If it makes sense for you to take that route, we'll ensure that your personal care contract meets all of your state's specifications. In most other cases, a Medicaid beneficiary couldn't move their home without violating the rules and losing their Medicaid coverage, and they couldn't even transfer housing after their death, because the state would likely try to collect reimbursement for their Medicaid long-term care expenses (a process known as wealth recovery) by selling the home. While not specifically a Medicaid program, the exception for child caregivers is a Medicaid exemption that allows an adult child to “pay” for providing assistance for the care of an older parent. This makes temporary Medicaid care the primary source of coverage for caregivers of people with Medicare and Medicaid.
While the flexibilities of the pandemic era are over and additional funding is running out, states continue to provide extensive support to family caregivers through Medicaid home care programs. They often provide 24-hour home care, including practical support in activities of daily living (ADL), while ensuring the health and safety of their loved ones. The most commonly covered benefit was respite care (offered in 47 states, all responding states, except Oregon), which provides short-term relief to caregivers, allowing them to rest, travel, attend appointments, or spend time with other family and friends. Your salary will depend on the care needs of Medicaid recipients and the average salary of home care aides in the area. Exemptions from home and community-based services (HCBS) will pay for health care and long-term care services and supports that help older people who require a level of care in a nursing facility to continue to live in the community instead of living in a nursing home.
Caring for a loved one at home helps Medicaid avoid the higher costs of care facilities, such as nursing homes, so many states compensate caregivers for the work they are already doing to support a person who is eligible for Medicaid. Financial compensation can significantly reduce caregiver stress and anxiety, whether it helps to compensate for a caregiver's loss of pay due to another type of work or to make modifications to the home or to provide durable medical supplies. Nearly all HCBS exemptions require that beneficiaries need a level of care in a nursing facility (NFLOC), meaning they need the kind of ongoing care and supervision normally associated with to a nursing home.
