Caregiver pay guide · ElderCareCosts Research
Can I Get Paid to Care for My Parent in California?
In California, families usually start with In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), a consumer-directed option under Medi-Cal. Your parent has to qualify for Medicaid on both medical need and finances, and California sets those rules. If your parent is a Veteran, the VA's Veteran-Directed Care program is a second route.
Consumer-directed Medicaid in California
Under In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), the person receiving care, or a representative, chooses and directs the caregiver.
Whether a spouse, adult child or other relative can be paid depends on the program's rules, and the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) can tell you.
Self-directed Medicaid services, also called consumer-directed or participant-directed, give the participant or a representative control over who provides care and how it is scheduled.
Who qualifies
The person receiving care has to meet Medi-Cal's financial rules and pass a level-of-care or functional-needs assessment. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) publishes the current income and asset limits.
Self-direction usually sits inside a state plan personal-care benefit, Community First Choice, or an HCBS waiver, and openings, wait lists and service budgets vary by program.
Veteran-Directed Care
Veteran-Directed Care is a VA program that gives eligible Veterans a budget for home and community-based services, managed with counselor support. Veterans may hire workers, which can include a family member, where the program is offered.
The VA decides eligibility and availability, and not every medical center offers it, so ask a VA social worker.
How this differs from agency home care
In agency home care, a licensed agency employs the caregiver and bills for the visit. In a consumer-directed model, the participant or a representative recruits and supervises the worker, with payroll handled by a financial management service the program provides.
Private-pay agency rates and Medicaid self-direction wages are not the same thing, so compare the program's rules with any agency quote before you plan around a number.
How to apply
Start with the program page linked under Sources below, then call the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) if it is not clear which option fits.
If your parent served in the military, ask the VA about Veteran-Directed Care at the same time.
See every state at a glance in the caregiver pay estimator.
Sources
- Medicaid.gov. Self-Directed Services. Self-directed Medicaid services also called consumer-directed or participant-directed give participants decision-making authority over certain LTSS and home- and community-based services, including recruiting hiring training and supervising workers under employer authority and budget authority as an alternative to agency-delivered care
- VA. Veteran-Directed Care. Veteran-Directed Care lets eligible Veterans receive a budget for home and community-based services and hire workers, which may include a family member, when the program is available at their VA location
- Medicaid.gov. Federal Medicaid framework for long-term services and supports; joint federal–state program; states set many eligibility details within federal rules
- California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). Medi-Cal official program entry point; publishes the current income and asset limits and eligibility rules
- California Department of Social Services IHSS. In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) official program description and application entry point in California
Related
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