Can I Get Paid to Care for Loved Ones

Self-Direction and Getting Paid for Care Giving

Maybe you’ve quit your job to care for an elderly parent or a child who has developmental or intellectual disabilities. This is not easy – in fact it’s downright stressful.

Enter self-directed home care.

Self-directed home care is a Medicaid service model that means you might be able to get paid to care for your family member. Self-directed home care is one of the best kept secrets in long-term care.

In this FAQ, we answer common questions about self-directed home care and getting paid for care giving:

Can I get paid to take care of a family member?
How can I get paid to take care of a family member?
What does PPL do for me?
How to get started with self-directed home care?
What is self-directed home care?
How do I know if I qualify for a Self-Directed Care Program?

If you don’t see your question answered here, please contact us. We’re here to help you learn more about self-direction and how you can get paid for care giving.

Can I get paid to take care of a family member?

Yes, depending on the state you live in and your Medicaid eligibility, you may be able to get paid to take care of your family member.

If your family member is eligible for Medicaid and depending on where you live, you might be able to receive financial aid from the Self-Directed Medicaid Services programs.

To find out if you’re able to get paid to care for a family member under the Self-Directed Medicaid Services program in your state, visit our State Programs page or contact us and we can assist you in checking your eligibility.

Within self-directed home care in most states, you may be able to get paid to look after a parent, child, grandparent, sibling, or other family member.

Depending on the state you live in, there are self-directed care programs for the elderly, for people living with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, and people living with chronic illness.

Start Your Self-Directed Journey Today

Are you facing a stressful long-term care choice for yourself or a loved one?

It’s a reality faced by many aging adults, individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses and their families.

However, there is an alternative for those who are Medicaid eligible - self-directed home care. Some have called it “the best kept secret in long-term care” one that can lead to more hours of care for you/your loved one.

Participating in a self-directed home care program gives you back choice, control, and independence. It has the potential to transform lives - yours, your family's, and those of your support network.

How can I get paid to take care of a family member?

To get paid to take care of a family member:

Your family member must be eligible for Medicaid
You must be living in a state that permits payment to family members for self-directed home care

If your loved one is eligible for Medicaid, you may be able to receive financial aid from the Self-Directed Medicaid Services programs, depending on what state you live in.

If your family member qualifies for a Self-Directed Medicaid Services program that allows family members to be paid for providing care, your first step in getting paid is to connect with a Financial Management Service (FMS) provider.

An FMS supports people like you in getting enrolled in self-directed home care and pays you to look after your family member.

Public Partnerships | PPL is an FMS and we work for you – paying you on time, helping you arrange for services and supports for your family member, and helping you with the enrollment process.

To make it easy for you to get paid to care for your family member, we provide you with easy-to-use online tools that make it simple to submit your time sheets and get paid. We also make sure that your taxes are withheld. We make sure you get paid accurately and on time.

Visit our State Programs Page to learn if there is an existing self-directed home care program in your state.

Find my State

What can PPL do for me?

Public Partnerships | PPL works for participants and loved ones of participants who want to self-direct their care.

We help you enroll in your state’s self-directed program.
We pay the people caring for you or your loved one.
We help you with all the forms and steps involved with self-direction.
We pay vendors who provide you or your loved one with supports and services.
We provide tools to make it easy to manage your Medicaid budget and approve timesheets.
We take care of the background checks and withhold taxes on paychecks.

We take care of the details so you or your loved one can remain at home and focus on living a happy and independent life.

We pay your care/support workers within your budget —so you can remain in your home while focusing on what is most important – living your best life.

With 20 years of experience, PPL is the #1 choice of FMS, supporting over 120,000 self-directing program participants in 23 states, across 43 different programs.

How to Get Started with Self-Directed Home Care

To get started with self-directed home care, you need to understand what self-directed care is, how self-directed care works, and why self-directed care is the best choice for you or your loved one.

The FAQs below answer the most common questions about self-directed home care.

Self-directed home care is a service model that empowers participants, usually eligible for Medicaid, such as yourself or your loved one with choice and control over the long-term services and supports you need to live at home.

Self-directed home care may also be called consumer direction, self-direction, participant direction, or self-determination.

Self-directed home care gives you the ability to hire your own care/support that YOU love and trust. With self-direction, you have the freedom to live in your home and community and decide who delivers your care, such as friends or approved family members.

By choosing self-direction, you are not restricted by the hours that agency care workers or assisted living nurses can work, so you can have more hours of care and support dedicated to you. You are also not paying the costs associated with an institution or agency, so you can have more of your benefits working for you. Most importantly, YOU are in charge and have more control of your journey.

Read more about Self-Directed Home Care and how PPL can help you manage your support and services here.

A Financial Management Service (FMS) is required by Medicaid law to assist self-directing participants in exercising budget authority. As an individual, you are not responsible for choosing an FMS, as your state or Managed Care Organization (MCO) appoints one for your program.

PPL is the largest FMS with 20 years of experience and a proven track record of successfully serving large-scale programs and managing complex transitions of programs from other vendors.

There is no difference between self-direction and participant-direction. Self-direction, participant-direction, and consumer-direction all mean the same thing.

Regardless of what it is called in your state, self-direction, participant-direction, or consumer-direction all mean you or your loved one has control and freedom over your long-term care options.

To find out if you qualify for a Self-Directed Program, contact us and we can find out for you. It’s not easy to find out this information on your own.

If there is an existing self-directed home care program in your state and you are Medicaid eligible, you may qualify for a self-directed program.

To know if self-direction is right for you or your loved one, consider these top 5 benefits of self-direction:

Receive personal care from a person you know and trust.
You decide who comes into your home to deliver your care.
You live in your own home and community.
You are in control over your care.
You get personalized care that meets your unique needs.

Check out our 10 reasons why self-directed care could be right for you or a loved one.

Whatever your questions, we are here for you!

To understand if self-direction is better than assisted living or using a home care agency, consider these benefits of self-direction:

Live in your own home and community.
Know who will be caring and supporting you.
Personalized care from a person you know and trust.
Control over your care and support.
Improved quality of life for you and your family members.
Consistency of care and routine.
Cost-effective and the best value for your money.

Understanding your long-term care options is critical to making the right choice for you or your loved one, and we are here to help! With so many options out there, it can be overwhelming trying to weigh all the pros and cons.

We have made it easier for you by comparing the benefits of different types of long-term care options: institutional care (e.g., nursing home or assisted living facility), home care agency (e.g., adult day care, home care agency), and self-direction. Check out the comparison here.

You choose which third-party services and supports you want to spend your authorized budget on. This means you can use your budget to pay for your personalized needs including transportation, home modifications, physical therapy, community classes, skills training, and more.

Within self-direction you are given a budget and are put in charge of your money and what you want to spend it on (with restrictions).

No, self-directed home care is not expensive. Self-direction is cost effective and gives you more value for your money.

As a self-directing program participant, you are given a budget and put in charge of your money and what you spend it on (with restrictions). You manage your budget to pay your service providers and get what you need.

Check out our comparison of long-term care options, which demonstrates the savings that can be made to an individual and their family.

Self-directing your own or a loved one’s care, support and services is a choice. Your choice to remain in your home and community.

Wherever you are in your self-directed home care journey, we are determined to use our size, experience and growing capabilities to continually invest in our mission to transform more lives by making self-directed home care easier for all.

Start your Self-Directed Journey today

Can I Get Paid to Care for Loved Ones?