Can I get paid as a family caregiver in Michigan?

Getting Paid to Take Care of a Family Member in Michigan

I’m writing to unpaid family caregivers in Michigan, to help you learn if you can get paid for the care you provide.

We’re talking about the Home Help Program from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), which gives free in-home care to applicants who qualify for Medicaid.

Graycare (graycare.net) is NOT a Lawyer or Doctor, and certainly ain’t no ombudsman.

As far as I know, these are the #1 and #2 most important web pages for Michiganders, who are currently unpaid caregivers, who want to find accurate information about how to get paid by the Michigan State Government for the caregiving they do:

#1 Click here to visit the Michigan.gov page: Home Health Program for Individual Providers. 

#2 Click here to read the full PDF May 1, 2023 version of the MDHHS HOME HELP CAREGIVERS PDF (ASM 135).

The HOME HELP CAREGIVERS PDF is the ADULT SERVICES MANUAL that gets down-to-details on what you need to be, and what you need to do, to qualify for paid caregiving to a person you’re already caregiving for in Michigan.

I’m lil gangreen, an eager caregiver helper who has summarized the PDF for you.

QUESTION: I'm a family caregiver in Michigan. Will the State of Michigan pay me for the care I provide to another Michigander?

TRUTH: There are several, several requirements you must satisfy first.

First, know your role:

• The applicant is the person who needs care. (The person you care for.)
• The caregiver is the person who gives care. (That’s you, I think.)

How much does the MDHHS pay Home Help caregivers?

My friend, you need to look it up on the ASM 138.

Click here to view the ASM 138 PDF on the Michigan.gov website.

The most up to date version was published in February of 2023, so look for the "2-1-2023" date on the PDF. And if you find a new version, feel free to contact me in a jiffy!

• In most Michigan Counties, the MDHHS pays $12.45 hourly wages to Home Help Program Individual Caregivers.
• In most Michigan Counties, the MDHHS pays $18.71 hourly wages to Home Help Program Agency Providers.
• That's more money per hour than back in 2021, when it was $9.90 hourly wages for Individual Caregivers and $16.08 wages for Agency Providers.
• Find a lucky surprise in the ASM 138 if you live in Benzie (10), Grand Traverse (28), Leelanau (45), or Manistee (51) counties.

Summary

Click here to visit the Home Help Program main website.

To get state-funded in-home care from the Michigan Home Help Program, the applicant has to be poor and disabled.

• POOR: "Medicaid funds the Home Help program and will not authorize payments if the client's Medicaid eligibility is inactive." [Michgan.gov]

• DISABLED: "The Home Help program [...] provides personal care services to individuals who need hands-on assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)" [Michgan.gov]

Michigan’s middle-class is too rich to qualify for Medicaid, and therefore doesn’t qualify for the Home Help Program. What’s more, poor people who do qualify can’t choose their spouse or parent to be their state-funded caregiver.

Income

The applicant must qualify for Medicaid. Most seniors domicile with their spouse or alone, and most seniors report taxes to the government individually or jointly. It matters because:

• One-Person Households must earn less than $19,392 yearly income to qualify for Medicaid. [Benefits.gov]
• Two-Person Households must earn less than $26,228 yearly income to qualify for Medicaid. [Benefits.gov]

Assets

Less than low income, the applicant must next-to-zero assets, like cash savings or a property ownership. [American Council on Aging]

• Single applicants must own less than $2,000.
• Married applicants with both applying must own less than $3,000.
• Married applicants with just one applying must own less than $2,000, and their spouse must own less than $148,620.

Your home (primary residence) and car (motor vehicle) are two types of assets exempt from Medicaid eligibility. You can qualify for Medicaid while owning one home and one automobile (as long as the home is valued under $595,000, plus the applicant lives in the home and uses the automobile).

Disability

The so-called “Functional Requirements” are the easy part. A Medicaid employee will assess the applicant to determine whether or not they need assistance with at least one of seven  “Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)”. Those include eating, bathing, using the toilet, dressing, cooking, housekeeping, taking medication, personal hygiene, doing laundry, and essential shopping.

Relationship

Michigan Home Help Program pays Agency Providers 62% more money than Individual Caregivers.

What's happening is family, neighbors, friends, and the MDHHS agree caring for someone you care about is worth 38% less than caring for a stranger.

• ( $16.08 Agency / $9.90 Individual ) - 1 = ~62%
• 1 - ( $9.90 Individual / $16.08 Agency ) = ~38%

If the caregiver is the spouse or responsible guardian to the applicant, the caregiver can’t get paid by the state. What's happening is, when you keep your promise "to care for the other in sickness and in health", now you don't get money for your care.

• Spousal Caregivers and Parental Caregiver are disqualified from MDHHS Home Help payments: "Do not pay Home Help services to: A responsible relative (a spouse caring for a spouse or a parent caring for a minor child)." [Michigan.gov]

As a child, friend, or neighbor to the applicant who chooses to give long-term care, it’s possible to get money by logging hours in the CHAMP System.

What’s considered an “Individual Caregiver”?

Once an “applicant” gets approved, they become a “client”, and can hire or fire a state-funded “home help caregiver”.

An “individual caregiver” is like an independent contractor. They work for themselves without representing a company or agency, as opposed to an “agency provider”.

If you are a relative or friend who gets paid to provide care for someone you know, then you are an “individual caregiver”.

If you are a person who gets paid to give care for clients as a self-employed venture, then you are an “individual caregiver”.

Michigan Home Help Program Stipulations

To be a Michigan state-paid caregiver for a client under the Home Health Program…

• You must be 18 years or older
• You cannot be the client’s spouse (the state calls you a “responsible relative”)
• You cannot be the client’s parent or guardian (the state calls you a “responsible relative”)
• You must not currently manage the applicant’s finances, medical care, or community integration (the state calls you a “fiscal intermediary”)
• You cannot provide “day care services” at the same time you provide “Home Help Program”
• You cannot provide “Home Help” services and receive “Home Help” services at the same time
• You must be able and healthy enough to perform the “Home Help” services dependably, including handling emergencies
• You must pass a criminal history check before you start, by enrolling in a stupid online system called the Community Health Automated Medicaid Processing System (CHAMPS), but in some cases, you can get around a felony they find through what they call “permissive exclusions” (form MSA-119)
• You must pass a face-to-face interview given by an MDHHS adult service worker (ASW) before you start, and provide your picture ID at the interview
• You must pass a review given by an MDHHS adult service worker (ASW) six months after you start
• You may need to take training courses
• You must submit a “Home Help Services Agreement” (form MS​​A-4676), signed by each caregiver who serves a client
• You must follow the rules regarding a slew of payment reporting, form filling, service reporting, tax documentation, and online data entry that I’m not going to get into right now, since so much has to happen for you to need to learn this kind of stuff.

Getting Tax Credit or Other Benefits

Another roundabout way you can get a financial benefit by serving as a family caregiver are tax deductions and credits.

• If the person you care for is a legal dependent, you could earn a tax credit.
• If the person you care for has medical or dental expenses, you could earn a tax credit.
• Family caregivers of veterans have special aid, benefits. and other programs providing support and financial assistance.

‍