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Home care programs · Michigan

Michigan home care programs

Michigan pays for care at home through 6 programs. Consumer-directed care is available through Home Help Program. Family members can be paid caregivers in 4 of them.

Verified Oct 9, 2026Sources: official state and federal agencies

Every state
Programs
6
Consumer-directed
Yes
Family can be paid
Yes
Structured family caregiving
No
On this page
Programs

Every way Michigan pays for care at home

Michigan pays for care at home through 6 programs. Consumer-directed care is available through Home Help Program. Family members can be paid caregivers in 4 of them.

ProgramTypeCan family be paidHow it differs
Medicaid Home Health ServicesState Plan home health (Medicaid Provider Manual, Home Health chapter)Home healthNot statedSkilled home health: nursing, therapy and aide visits under a plan of care from a licensed home health agency; run as a Medicaid State Plan benefit, available through fee-for-service and managed care.
Home Help ProgramState Plan personal care (1905(a)(24))Consumer-directedYesConsumer-directed care: the participant hires and directs their own aide, with payroll handled for them; run as a Medicaid State Plan benefit, paid fee-for-service.
Community Living Supports through Community Mental Health / PIHPs (incl. self-determination) (CLS)1915(c) waivers MI.0167 (Habilitation Supports) and MI.4119 (Children's Waiver); 1915(i) Behavioral Health SPAWaiver in-homeYesWaiver in-home services: supports at home for people who meet a nursing-home or similar level of care; run as a 1915(i) state plan HCBS benefit, delivered through managed-care plans.
MI Choice Waiver Program1915(b)/(c) waiver MI.0233Waiver in-homeYesWaiver in-home services: supports at home for people who meet a nursing-home or similar level of care; run as a 1915(b) managed-care waiver, delivered through managed-care plans.
MI Coordinated Health (MICH) HCBS Waiver1915(b)/(c) waiver MI.1126 (2026-01-01 to 2029-12-31)Waiver in-homeYesWaiver in-home services: supports at home for people who meet a nursing-home or similar level of care; run as a 1915(b) managed-care waiver, delivered through managed-care plans.
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)State Plan PACE / Medicare-Medicaid capitationPACENot statedPACE: one organization covers medical care, a day center and home care for people 55 and over; run as the PACE benefit, delivered through managed-care plans.
Guide

Home health vs home care vs consumer-directed care in Michigan

What each kind of program is, who employs the caregiver and when a family member can be paid.

Home health: the medical benefit

In Michigan, skilled home health is Medicaid Home Health Services. It is a medical benefit: a doctor or other practitioner orders nursing, therapy or home health aide visits under a written plan of care, and the visits stop when the skilled need ends.

Only a licensed home health agency enrolled with Michigan Medicaid can bill it, and the agency's own nurses, therapists and aides make the visits.

Home care: non-medical personal care through an agency

Help with bathing, dressing, eating and household tasks is "home care" or personal care. In Michigan it is paid through the programs below rather than a separate agency personal care benefit.

Consumer-directed care: the person hires their own aide

Michigan's consumer-directed option is Home Help Program. The person receiving care, or a representative, recruits, hires, trains, schedules and supervises the aide, and can let go of one. A fiscal intermediary runs payroll, taxes and background checks, so the person never handles wages directly.

This is the route most families use to be paid: Home Help Program allows a relative to be hired as the paid aide. Which relatives qualify (adult children, parents of adults, spouses, legal guardians) and how a live-in caregiver is treated are set program by program.

Structured family caregiving: a paid live-in family caregiver

Michigan has no structured family caregiving program. A family caregiver is paid instead through consumer-directed care (Home Help Program), by the hour, as the participant's chosen aide.

Other ways Michigan pays for care at home

Waiver in-home services: Community Living Supports through Community Mental Health / PIHPs (incl. self-determination) (CLS), MI Choice Waiver Program, and MI Coordinated Health (MICH) HCBS Waiver. These pay for in-home supports for people who meet a nursing-home or similar level of care, often with more services than state plan personal care and, in some programs, a waiting list or enrollment cap.

PACE: Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). One PACE organization covers medical care, a day center and home care for people 55 and over who need nursing-home level care.

Which one fits

  • Needs nursing, wound care, injections or therapy at home: home health (Medicaid Home Health Services).
  • Wants to choose the aide, including a relative where allowed: Home Help Program.
  • Meets nursing-home level of care and needs more than personal care: Community Living Supports through Community Mental Health / PIHPs (incl. self-determination) (CLS), MI Choice Waiver Program, and MI Coordinated Health (MICH) HCBS Waiver.
In the workspace

Michigan program rules, side by side

Eligibility, the family caregiver rules (spouses, parents, live-in caregivers), employer of record, fiscal intermediary, caregiver training, provider requirements, how to enroll, published pay, EVV and waiting lists: 68 details across 6 programs.

ProgramFamily rulesEmployerEligibilityPay
See Michigan's program rules — start free

Who can be paid, who employs the caregiver, what each program requires of agencies and caregivers, how to become a provider and what it pays, for all 6 programs.

  • Family caregiver rules
  • Provider requirements
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Program by program

Michigan's programs

What each program is and how it differs from the others. Locked details open in the workspace.

Medicaid Home Health Services

Home health

State Plan home health (Medicaid Provider Manual, Home Health chapter) · Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)

Skilled home health: nursing, therapy and aide visits under a plan of care from a licensed home health agency; run as a Medicaid State Plan benefit, available through fee-for-service and managed care.

Can family be paid?Not stated
How to get set up
Provider track · 9 steps
  1. Set up the agency
  2. 8 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Family / participant track · 6 steps
  1. Get Medicaid
  2. 5 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Open the full checklist →
EligibilityServices coveredHours or budgetEmployer of recordProvider requirementsHow to become a providerEVVWaiting list or capManaged-care plansRecent changesHow it differs, in detailSetup checklistUnlock the details →

Home Help Program

Consumer-directed

State Plan personal care (1905(a)(24)) · MDHHS adult services workers in local MDHHS offices

Consumer-directed care: the participant hires and directs their own aide, with payroll handled for them; run as a Medicaid State Plan benefit, paid fee-for-service.

Can family be paid?Yes
How to get set up
Provider track · 9 steps
  1. Set up the agency business
  2. 8 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Family / participant track · 12 steps
  1. Ask for Home Help
  2. 11 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Open the full checklist →
EligibilityServices coveredHours or budgetFamily caregiver rulesEmployer of recordFiscal intermediaryCaregiver requirementsProvider requirementsHow to become a providerPay rateEVVWaiting list or capManaged-care plansRecent changesHow it differs, in detailSetup checklistUnlock the details →

Community Living Supports through Community Mental Health / PIHPs (incl. self-determination) (CLS)

Waiver in-home

1915(c) waivers MI.0167 (Habilitation Supports) and MI.4119 (Children's Waiver); 1915(i) Behavioral Health SPA · MDHHS Behavioral and Physical Health and Aging Services through Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans (PIHPs) and Community Mental Health Services Programs

Waiver in-home services: supports at home for people who meet a nursing-home or similar level of care; run as a 1915(i) state plan HCBS benefit, delivered through managed-care plans.

Can family be paid?Yes
How to get set up
Provider track · 6 steps
  1. Set up the business and any licence
  2. 5 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Family / participant track · 6 steps
  1. Call the local CMHSP
  2. 5 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Open the full checklist →
EligibilityServices coveredFamily caregiver rulesEmployer of recordFiscal intermediaryProvider requirementsEVVWaiting list or capHow it differs, in detailSetup checklistUnlock the details →

MI Choice Waiver Program

Waiver in-home

1915(b)/(c) waiver MI.0233 · MDHHS through regional waiver agencies (Area Agencies on Aging and other contracted agencies)

Waiver in-home services: supports at home for people who meet a nursing-home or similar level of care; run as a 1915(b) managed-care waiver, delivered through managed-care plans.

Can family be paid?Yes
How to get set up
Provider track · 8 steps
  1. Set up the business
  2. 7 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Family / participant track · 9 steps
  1. Contact the local waiver agency
  2. 8 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Open the full checklist →
EligibilityServices coveredHours or budgetFamily caregiver rulesEmployer of recordFiscal intermediaryProvider requirementsHow to become a providerEVVWaiting list or capManaged-care plansRecent changesHow it differs, in detailSetup checklistUnlock the details →

MI Coordinated Health (MICH) HCBS Waiver

Waiver in-home

1915(b)/(c) waiver MI.1126 (2026-01-01 to 2029-12-31) · MDHHS with contracted HIDE SNP plans

Waiver in-home services: supports at home for people who meet a nursing-home or similar level of care; run as a 1915(b) managed-care waiver, delivered through managed-care plans.

Can family be paid?Yes
How to get set up
Provider track · 6 steps
  1. Set up the business
  2. 5 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Family / participant track · 6 steps
  1. Check eligibility
  2. 5 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Open the full checklist →
EligibilityServices coveredFamily caregiver rulesEmployer of recordProvider requirementsEVVManaged-care plansRecent changesHow it differs, in detailSetup checklistUnlock the details →

Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)

PACE

State Plan PACE / Medicare-Medicaid capitation · MDHHS with CMS

PACE: one organization covers medical care, a day center and home care for people 55 and over; run as the PACE benefit, delivered through managed-care plans.

Can family be paid?Not stated
How to get set up
Provider track · 6 steps
  1. Assess feasibility
  2. 5 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Family / participant track · 6 steps
  1. Contact a PACE organization
  2. 5 more steps: forms, fees, timelines and links
Open the full checklist →
EligibilityServices coveredEmployer of recordProvider requirementsHow it differs, in detailSetup checklistUnlock the details →
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can family members get paid to be caregivers in Michigan?

Yes. Home Help Program, Community Living Supports through Community Mental Health / PIHPs (incl. self-determination) (CLS), MI Choice Waiver Program, and MI Coordinated Health (MICH) HCBS Waiver let a family member be the paid caregiver. Which relatives qualify, including spouses and parents of minor children, is set program by program.

Does Michigan have consumer-directed care?

Yes: Home Help Program. The person receiving care hires and directs their own aide, and a fiscal intermediary handles payroll.

Does Michigan have structured family caregiving?

No. Michigan does not run a structured family caregiving program. Family caregivers are paid through consumer-directed care instead.

What is the difference between home health and home care in Michigan?

Home health (Medicaid Home Health Services) is medical: nursing, therapy and aide visits ordered by a practitioner and delivered by a licensed home health agency. Home care is non-medical help with daily activities, based on functional need.

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