Can I Get Paid to Take Care of My Mom in Michigan? Here's Exactly How It Works

You've been showing up for your mom for months. Maybe years.

Getting her out of bed in the morning. Helping her get dressed. Making sure she takes her medications. Being there when she falls. Rearranging your own schedule — your own life — because she needs you.

And someone just told you that Michigan has a program that might pay you for this.

You're wondering: is that real? Is it actually possible to get paid to take care of my mom?

Yes. It is real. And if your mom is on Michigan Medicaid, there's a real chance you qualify.

Let me walk you through exactly how it works — from your first question to your first paycheck.

The Short Answer

The program is called the Michigan Home Help Program. It's a Medicaid benefit run by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

Here's the core of it:

If your mom has Michigan Medicaid and needs help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, or getting around safely
And you're her adult child (or another adult family member) willing to be her paid caregiver
Then MDHHS can pay you — directly — to provide that care at home

The current pay rate is $18 per hour (effective January 1, 2026).

At 20 authorized hours per week, that's approximately $1,566 per month.

The care she already needs. The work you're already doing. Michigan Medicaid pays you for it.

Before We Go Further: Does Your Mom Have Medicaid?

This is the first question. Everything builds on it.

If she has Medicaid: Great. You can move forward.

If she has Medicare: Medicare is federal health insurance. It is not the same as Medicaid. Having Medicare alone does not qualify for the Home Help Program. However, many people have both Medicare and Medicaid — called "dual eligible" — and those individuals typically do qualify.

If she has neither: She may still be able to apply for Medicaid. Michigan Medicaid eligibility for elderly individuals is based on income and assets. If she's over the standard limits, there's a spend-down process that may still allow her to qualify. Read more in our guide to qualifying for Michigan Medicaid when income or assets are too high.

Step 1: Confirm Medicaid Status

The fastest way to check: log in to MI Bridges (michigan.gov/mibridges). If she already has an account, you can check her Medicaid status there. If not, you can create one or call your local MDHHS office.

If she's already on Medicaid, you're ready for the next step.

If she's not on Medicaid, apply through MI Bridges. The process takes up to 45 days, so start now.

Step 2: Request a Home Help Assessment

Once Medicaid is confirmed, call your local MDHHS office and ask for an Adult Services Worker. Tell them you'd like to apply for the Home Help Program for your mom.

They'll schedule an in-home assessment — a caseworker comes to her home and evaluates what daily activities she needs help with.

What they're assessing:

Bathing and personal hygiene
Dressing
Mobility — getting around the house safely
Getting in and out of bed or chairs
Eating
Toileting
Any cognitive issues that affect safety

Why this matters so much: The number of hours they authorize is based on what's documented in this assessment. Families who clearly describe the full scope of care — including the hard parts, the bad days, the falls — tend to get more hours authorized.

Our tip: Keep a log of everything you help your mom with in the week before the assessment. Write down what you do, how long it takes, and any safety incidents. Bring it to the appointment.

Step 3: Get the Service Plan

After the assessment, MDHHS will issue a service plan (on a form called MSA-4676). This document states how many hours of care are authorized per month and what types of tasks are covered.

This number — the authorized hours — is what determines your paycheck.

If the hours seem lower than what your mom actually needs, you have the right to request a review or appeal. This is something we help families navigate all the time.

Step 4: You Enroll as Her Paid Caregiver

Before you can receive payment, you need to be enrolled as a caregiver through CHAMPS — Michigan's Medicaid provider enrollment system.

This involves:

Creating a MiLogin account at milogintp.michigan.gov
Completing an Individual Provider Enrollment application in CHAMPS
Passing a criminal history screening (conducted by MDHHS Provider Enrollment through CHAMPS)
Signing a provider agreement with MDHHS
Receiving your provider number

The background check primarily looks for crimes involving abuse, neglect, or exploitation of vulnerable adults. If you have nothing in your history along those lines, you should clear it.

This process typically takes 2–6 weeks. It's the part where most families get stuck. See the full walkthrough: CHAMPS Registration Step-by-Step.

Step 5: Set Up Electronic Visit Verification (EVV)

Federal law requires that all Home Help visits be electronically verified. Michigan uses a system called HHAeXchange for this.

Before your first day providing care, you'll need to download the HHAeXchange app on your phone and set up your account.

How it works:

When you arrive to provide care, you open the app and clock in
When you finish, you clock out
The system records the visit automatically
That data flows to MDHHS and becomes the basis for your payment

Important: If a visit isn't logged in HHAeXchange, it doesn't get paid. It's that simple. Get this set up before you start.

If you're working with Home Help Navigators, we set up HHAeXchange for you and walk you through it before the first visit.

Step 6: Start Providing Care and Get Paid

Once CHAMPS is complete and EVV is set up, you can start providing care and get paid.

How payment works:

You provide care and log each visit in HHAeXchange
Your agency (or you, if self-directing) submits billing claims to MDHHS
Payment flows through ASAP — the state's payment system
You receive payment on a regular schedule, typically every two weeks
Direct deposit is available

When to expect your first check: First payments typically arrive 2–4 weeks after the first billing cycle is submitted. After that, it comes in regularly.

The Full Timeline: Start to First Paycheck

Here's what the process looks like end to end:

| Milestone | Approximate Timing | |-----------|------------------| | Confirm Medicaid or apply | Week 1–2 | | MDHHS schedules assessment | Week 2–4 | | Assessment completed | Week 3–5 | | Service plan issued | Week 4–6 | | CHAMPS enrollment started | Week 4–6 | | CHAMPS enrollment approved | Week 6–10 | | EVV set up and first visit | Week 7–11 | | First paycheck | Week 9–14 |

On your own, this can take 14 weeks or more. With an agency guiding you and doing much of the work, it typically moves significantly faster.

The Most Common Reason Families Give Up

Here it is: the paperwork.

Not the eligibility. Not the actual caregiving. The paperwork, the phone calls, the state systems that aren't designed to be user-friendly.

Most families who give up before getting enrolled would have qualified. They just hit one wall they didn't know how to get over — usually CHAMPS — and stopped.

This is why Home Help Navigators exists. We handle the paperwork, the phone calls, the CHAMPS enrollment, the EVV setup, and all the billing. You provide the care. We handle everything else.

There's no cost to you. We're compensated as a licensed agency provider through MDHHS.

What About Taxes?

Yes, your income as a paid caregiver is taxable. However, if you live with your mom, there's an IRS rule (Notice 2014-7) that may allow you to exclude this income from your federal gross income.

Read the full breakdown: Michigan Home Help Caregiver Taxes: The Complete Guide.

One More Thing

Every month that goes by without enrollment is money your family isn't getting.

At $18/hour and 20 authorized hours per week, that's approximately $1,566 per month — or roughly $18,792 per year — for every year your family has been providing this care without getting paid for it.

You can't go back and get that money. But you can stop leaving it on the table going forward.

Ready to find out if you qualify? Take the free 5-question eligibility quiz or schedule a 15-minute call with us. No paperwork, no commitment, no cost.