If you’re providing regular care for a family member in Michigan — helping with bathing, meals, getting dressed, or moving around the home — there’s a Medicaid program designed to compensate you for that work. It’s called the Michigan Home Help program, administered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and michigan medicaid home help eligibility comes down to two separate questions: does the person receiving care qualify, and does the caregiver qualify?

This guide answers both clearly — including the Medicaid requirements your loved one must meet, the functional criteria that determine eligibility, and exactly who can and cannot be a paid caregiver under this program.

If you’re not sure whether your situation qualifies, Mozyne’s free eligibility check takes a few minutes and gives you a clear answer before you commit to any paperwork.

Michigan Home Help Eligibility: Who Qualifies to Receive Services?

Eligibility for the Home Help program has two components: financial (Medicaid enrollment and income limits) and functional (the kind of care the person needs). Both must be met.

Medicaid Enrollment Requirement

The person receiving care must be enrolled in Michigan Medicaid Fee for Service — not just the Healthy Michigan Plan. This is standard Medicaid coverage tied to income and assets, not the ACA expansion program.

For 2026, the income and asset limits for Home Help eligibility are:

• Single applicant: income up to $1,330/month, assets up to $9,950
• Married couple: income up to $1,804/month combined

If income is slightly over the limit, Michigan’s Medicaid program allows a spend-down option — meaning that if the person’s medical expenses reach a certain threshold, Medicaid coverage (including Home Help) may still apply. This is worth exploring if you’re close to the income cutoff.

Functional Eligibility: The ADL Requirement

According to MDHHS, the person receiving care must need hands-on physical assistance with at least one of seven Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) — everyday tasks essential to basic self-care. These are:

1. Eating or feeding — needs help getting food to mouth or eating safely
2. Bathing — needs help washing, showering, or personal hygiene
3. Dressing — needs help putting on or removing clothing
4. Grooming — needs help with hair, nails, or basic hygiene tasks
5. Moving throughout the home — needs help with indoor mobility
6. Transferring — needs help moving from bed to chair, or similar position changes
7. Using the toilet — needs help with toileting and personal cleanup
8. Complex care — includes catheters, colostomy care, wound care, injections, respiratory treatment, or peritoneal dialysis

If your loved one qualifies based on one or more of these ADLs, the program may also cover assistance with Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) — tasks like light housework, laundry, meal preparation, shopping for essential items, and medication setup.

This determination is made by an MDHHS adult services worker during an in-home assessment. That assessment also establishes how many paid hours per week the person qualifies for — which varies depending on the level of need and county case management.

What Is and Isn’t Covered

MDHHS administers Home Help as a personal care program. Once functional eligibility is confirmed, covered services can include:

Covered:

• Bathing, dressing, grooming, mobility assistance, transferring
• Toileting and hygiene
• Medication setup and administration
• Light housework, laundry
• Meal preparation and cleanup
• Shopping for essential items

Not covered:

• Heavy housework or home repairs
• Prompting or reminding someone to complete a task
• Supervision (without hands-on care)
• Transportation
• Yard work

This is worth understanding before you apply. Home Help pays for direct physical assistance — it does not cover general supervision, companionship, or household management tasks that don’t involve physical help with a specific ADL.

Who Can Be a Paid Caregiver?

According to MDHHS, the Home Help program allows Medicaid recipients to hire their own caregiver — which can be a family member, friend, or neighbor. This is the self-direction model that makes it possible for an adult child or sibling to be paid for care they’re already providing.

To qualify as a paid caregiver, a person must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Pass a criminal background check
• Complete enrollment in CHAMPS (Community Health Automated Medicaid Processing System) before being paid
• Use Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) to log care visits (required as of September 3, 2024, with limited exemptions)

Who Is Excluded

Two key exclusions apply:

• Spouses cannot be paid caregivers. A husband or wife cannot receive Home Help payment for caring for their partner under this program.
• Parents of minor children cannot be paid. A parent cannot receive Home Help payment to care for their own child under 18.

These exclusions are specific to the Home Help program. Adult children caring for an aging parent — the most common scenario — are fully eligible. So are siblings, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other adult relatives.

If you’re unsure whether your family arrangement qualifies, Mozyne can walk through the enrollment process with you before you commit to a single form.

No Waitlist — It’s an Entitlement

One thing that makes the Michigan Home Help program different from some other Medicaid programs: it’s a state plan entitlement, not a waiver. That means if your loved one meets the eligibility criteria, services must be made available. There is no waitlist.

This is in contrast to Michigan’s MI Choice Waiver and similar programs, which have enrollment caps and sometimes lengthy waitlists.

According to the State of Michigan, approximately 1.7 million Michigan residents provide unpaid care — a number expected to grow as the state’s population ages. Many of them are unaware that a paid option exists, or assume they won’t qualify.

AARP’s 2025 caregiving research puts the national number at 63 million caregivers — and the financial strain is real. Michigan’s Home Help program doesn’t solve everything, but for caregivers who qualify, it provides up to $17.13/hour in Medicaid compensation (the current rate as of January 1, 2026) for the care they’re already providing.

Next Steps

If your loved one has Michigan Medicaid and needs help with at least one of the ADLs listed above, the Home Help program may apply to your situation. The next steps are:

1. Confirm Medicaid Fee for Service enrollment (or start that application)
2. Request an MDHHS adult services assessment through your local county MDHHS office
3. If approved, complete CHAMPS enrollment as a caregiver

The process takes time — understanding how long the approval process takes helps you plan accordingly. And if you’ve ever wondered whether the Home Help program is legitimate and what separates it from less reputable programs, the short answer is: it’s a real Medicaid program administered directly by MDHHS that has been operating in Michigan for decades.

Most family caregivers who reach out to Mozyne aren’t sure if their situation qualifies. That’s exactly what the first step is for. Mozyne’s free eligibility check walks through the key criteria with you — no paperwork, no commitment — so you know where you stand before anything else. If you want to understand the full enrollment process first, learn how the Michigan Home Help program works before you start.