How to Apply for the Michigan Home Help Program: Step-by-Step

What You're Actually Signing Up For

The Michigan Home Help Program is worth navigating. Once enrolled, a family member can be paid directly through Medicaid to provide in-home care — helping with daily activities like bathing, dressing, meal preparation, and mobility assistance.

But the application process involves several Michigan state systems, each with its own requirements and timelines. This guide walks through every step so you know what to expect.

Before You Apply: Confirm Basic Eligibility

Before filling out a single form, confirm these three things:

The person receiving care is on Michigan Medicaid. This includes Healthy Michigan Plan (Medicaid expansion). Original Medicare alone does not qualify.
The person receiving care needs help with daily activities. The program covers personal care and household tasks — not skilled nursing.
The caregiver is not the spouse. Spouses are generally excluded. Adult children, siblings, and other family members can qualify.

If all three are true, you're ready to start the application process.

Step 1: MDHHS Home Help Application

The primary application is the MSA-4676 — the MDHHS Home Help Program application. This form captures:

Information about the care recipient (Medicaid ID, diagnosis, living situation)
The nature of the care needed
The caregiver's information and relationship to the recipient
Household details

MDHHS reviews the application and may schedule a functional assessment — an in-person or phone evaluation of the care recipient's needs. This assessment determines the number of authorized care hours.

Common delay at this stage: Incomplete applications or missing documentation are the most frequent reasons for delays. Make sure Medicaid information is current and accurate before submitting.

What to Expect After Your Referral — The Official Timeline

Here's exactly what to expect and when — so there are no surprises:

Referral entered into MiAIMS — MDHHS receives and logs your referral into the Michigan Adult Intake and Management System (MiAIMS).
Adult Services Worker (ASW) assigned — An ASW is assigned to your case and becomes your point of contact.
Introduction letter + forms mailed — The ASW mails an introduction letter along with two forms: the DHS-390 and MDHHS-6200.
21-day documentation window — You have 21 calendar days to return any missing documentation.
In-person home assessment — The ASW visits your home to assess care needs and determine authorized hours.
Eligibility determined within 45 days — MDHHS must determine eligibility within 45 calendar days of the referral. This is a legally required deadline.
MSA-4676 Services Agreement signed — If approved, this is signed before any payments begin.

Key deadline: MDHHS has 45 calendar days from the referral date to determine eligibility. If you're approaching that window without a decision, call your ASW and ask for a status update.

Step 2: Functional Assessment

An MDHHS caseworker evaluates the care recipient's functional needs. They assess:

Ability to perform ADLs (bathing, dressing, eating, mobility, toileting)
Ability to perform IADLs (cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping)
Safety concerns in the home environment

The assessment result determines the authorized service plan — the specific tasks covered and the maximum hours per month. The program can authorize up to 179.9 hours monthly depending on the assessed level of need.

Important: The authorized hours are not automatically the maximum. The assessment must reflect the actual level of assistance needed. Families who underreport or minimize their care needs can end up with fewer authorized hours than they're actually entitled to.

Step 3: CHAMPS Caregiver Enrollment

CHAMPS — the Community Health Automated Medicaid Processing System — is Michigan's Medicaid provider management platform. Every paid Home Help caregiver must be enrolled as a provider in CHAMPS before services can be authorized.

CHAMPS enrollment requires:

Completion of the online provider enrollment application
Selection of the correct provider type (Individual Attendant Care)
Submission of personal identification information
Criminal background check (described below)

Criminal history screening: All Home Help caregivers must pass a criminal history screening as part of CHAMPS enrollment. The screening is conducted by the MDHHS Provider Enrollment unit — not by the agency. Certain disqualifying offenses will prevent enrollment. The screening typically takes a few days to a couple of weeks to process.

Common delay at this stage: Incorrect provider type selection in CHAMPS is one of the most frequent enrollment errors. Selecting the wrong category can cause the entire enrollment to be rejected and require resubmission.

Step 4: HHAeXchange EVV Setup

EVV — Electronic Visit Verification — is required by federal law for all Medicaid personal care services. Michigan uses HHAeXchange as its EVV platform.

Once CHAMPS enrollment is approved, the caregiver must:

Set up an HHAeXchange account
Download the mobile app (or set up telephone check-in as an alternative)
Complete a brief orientation on how to log visit start and end times

Every single visit must be verified through HHAeXchange. Visits that are not properly verified will not be paid. This is one of the most important things to understand before starting — EVV compliance is not optional and it's an ongoing requirement, not just a one-time setup.

Step 5: Service Authorization and ASAP Setup

Once MDHHS approves the application, completes the functional assessment, and CHAMPS enrollment is confirmed, MDHHS issues a service authorization — the official approval specifying which services are covered, the number of hours per month, and the authorization period.

Payments are processed through ASAP (Automated Service Authorization and Payment), Michigan's Home Help payment system. The caregiver's payment information is registered in ASAP and payments are released on a regular cycle for verified visits.

When Does the First Paycheck Arrive?

From the start of the process to the first paycheck typically takes 2–4 weeks, assuming no delays or resubmissions. The main variables are:

How quickly MDHHS processes the application
How quickly the caregiver completes CHAMPS enrollment and background check
Whether there are any errors requiring correction

Families who navigate the process with guidance tend to move through it faster because common errors are avoided upfront.

How Home Help Navigators Helps

Every step described above is something we handle for Michigan families at no cost. We prepare the MDHHS application, guide the CHAMPS enrollment, set up HHAeXchange, and stay with you through the first billing cycle to make sure payments are correct.

If you think your family might qualify, start with our free eligibility check. Five questions. Two minutes. You'll know before you make a single call to MDHHS.