Michigan Medicaid Home Help Program: Eligibility, Pay Rates & How to Apply

You've been helping your parent bathe, dress, and eat for months — unpaid — and someone just told you Michigan Medicaid might actually pay you for it. They're right, but the details matter. The Home Help Program is one of the only Medicaid programs in the country that lets adult children become paid caregivers for their parents with no waitlist, but the rules around who qualifies, how much you earn, and which forms to file are buried across multiple MDHHS manuals.

What the Home Help Program Covers

Home Help is a Medicaid state-plan entitlement — meaning if your parent meets the financial and medical criteria, Michigan is legally required to provide services. There is no waitlist and no enrollment cap. The program covers hands-on assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, eating, and mobility. It also covers some Instrumental ADLs like meal preparation and basic household tasks directly tied to the recipient's medical needs.

What it does not cover: skilled nursing, home modifications, medical equipment, adult day programs, or respite care. For those services, your parent needs the MI Choice Waiver.

Financial Eligibility (2026 Numbers)

• Countable asset limit: $9,950 for a single applicant
• Income limit: $2,982 per month (Special Income Limit at 300% of SSI)
• Medically needy spend-down: If your parent's income exceeds $2,982, Michigan does not require a Miller Trust. Instead, excess income is spent down monthly on medical and care expenses until the applicant reaches the county-specific Protected Income Level ($341–$408/month)

The family home is exempt as a countable asset while the applicant lives there, and home equity up to $752,000 is protected.

Medical Eligibility: The Assessment

After filing the application, an MDHHS Adult Services Worker (ASW) schedules a face-to-face home visit. Using the Adult Services Comprehensive Assessment (Form MDHHS-5534), the worker scores your parent's physical dependence on a 1-to-5 scale across each ADL category. Before this visit, your parent's doctor must complete and submit the Adult Services Medical Needs Certification (Form MDHHS-6200) confirming a documented medical need for daily physical assistance. The certifying provider must be enrolled in Michigan Medicaid — if they're not, MDHHS rejects the form.

How to Apply: The Forms

1. Form DHS-390 (Adult Services Application) — filed at your local county MDHHS office or through MI Bridges online
2. Form MDHHS-6200 (Adult Services Medical Needs Certification) — completed by the parent's Medicaid-enrolled physician, nurse practitioner, or PA
3. Once approved, the hired caregiver enrolls through CHAMPS (Michigan's provider enrollment system) and files background check authorization

Caregiver Pay Rates

Michigan pays Home Help caregivers at two rates in 2026:

• Individual providers (family members, friends): $17.13 per hour
• Agency providers: $27.00 per hour

The number of authorized weekly hours depends on the assessment score — more severe functional limitations mean more hours. Payments run through the CHAMPS system, and caregivers must track time electronically through the state's Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) system.

Who Can Be a Paid Caregiver — and Who Cannot

This is where families get tripped up. Under Home Help:

• Adult children: Yes, they can be hired as individual providers
• Other relatives (siblings, grandchildren, friends): Yes
• Legal spouses: No — married spouses are strictly excluded from receiving payment under the Home Help Program

If the primary caregiver is the applicant's spouse, the family has two options: arrange for a non-spouse caregiver under Home Help, or apply for the MI Choice Waiver's Self-Determination Option, which can authorize spouse caregiver pay on a case-by-case basis.

Using Home Help as a Bridge to MI Choice

Because the MI Choice Waiver often has waitlists of three months to a year, many families start with Home Help immediately (no waitlist) and transition to MI Choice once a slot opens. This bridge strategy ensures your parent has paid care from day one while waiting for MI Choice's broader service package — which adds home modifications, adult day health, respite care, and more comprehensive caregiver options.

Common Mistakes That Delay Approval

• Filing the MDHHS-6200 with a provider who isn't enrolled in Michigan Medicaid
• Submitting the DHS-390 without the parent's current Medicaid ID number
• Not having legal authority documents ready — if your parent can't sign for themselves, you need a Patient Advocate Designation or court-appointed guardianship
• Failing to disclose all bank accounts, which triggers additional review and delays the financial audit

The Michigan Home Care, Waivers & Support Guide walks through the complete application process, including the exact forms, assessment preparation tips, and a caregiver enrollment checklist.

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