PACE and Home Help both exist to help Michiganders avoid unnecessary nursing home placement, and families sometimes assume they’re interchangeable. They’re not. Here’s what actually separates them, and how to think about which one fits.
At a Glance
– Home Help pays a family caregiver directly for personal care hours; PACE is a comprehensive managed-care program with its own staff and day center.
– PACE serves adults 55+ who meet a nursing-home level of care; Home Help’s criteria are broader and not age-restricted.
– With PACE, a family member generally can’t be a paid, direct caregiver the way Home Help’s individual-provider model allows.
– PACE bundles medical care, day programs, and transportation; Home Help is specifically a personal-care-hours benefit.
– Both are Medicaid-funded and typically aren’t combined for the same person at the same time.
What PACE Actually Is
PACE — the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly — is a comprehensive, managed program for adults 55 and older who meet a nursing-home level of care but want to stay in the community. It bundles medical care, a day center, transportation, therapy, and more under one coordinated team. It’s a service model, not a direct-pay-a-family-member model.
What Home Help Actually Is
Home Help is narrower and more direct: it pays a caregiver — often a family member the client already knows and trusts — an hourly rate for hands-on personal care. There’s no age floor, no day center, no bundled medical team. See our full Home Help program overview for the complete picture.
How to Decide Between Them
If your priority is getting paid as your loved one’s caregiver and keeping care as personal and family-driven as possible, Home Help is usually the better fit. If your loved one needs a heavier, more clinical level of coordinated support and would benefit from a day program and medical team, PACE is worth exploring — alongside options like MI Choice, which sits somewhere in between. A free eligibility check can help sort out which fits your family’s actual situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be paid as a family caregiver under PACE?
Generally not in the same direct way as Home Help’s individual-provider model — PACE uses its own care team rather than paying a chosen family member for personal care hours.
Is PACE only for people already in a nursing home?
No — it’s for people who qualify at a nursing-home level of care but choose, with PACE’s support, to stay in the community instead.
Can someone be enrolled in both Home Help and PACE at the same time?
Typically not simultaneously, since both are comprehensive Medicaid-funded long-term-care pathways addressing a similar underlying need. A caseworker or a free eligibility check can clarify what’s available to your specific family.
Which program should my family choose?
It depends on whether the priority is getting paid as a direct caregiver (Home Help) or accessing a bundled program of medical and social services (PACE). Talk it through with us if it’s not obvious yet.
Let’s Figure Out Which Program Actually Fits
Every family’s situation is different — tell us yours and we’ll help you sort Home Help, PACE, and MI Choice into what actually applies. Start the free eligibility check or call 313-251-1767.