Short answer: yes, in most cases. Michigan's Home Help Program is a Medicaid personal-care benefit with a self-direction option — meaning the person receiving care can choose their own caregiver, including an adult child, sibling, grandchild, or friend, and the state pays that person directly at $17.13/hr as of 2026. If no family member is available or willing, one of CarePay Michigan's licensed agency partners can place a trained caregiver instead — often at a higher rate, up to $23/hr.
Why this isn't too good to be true
This isn't a loophole or a pilot program — it's been part of Michigan's Medicaid personal care benefit for years, and it exists for a practical reason: keeping people in their own homes is usually better for them and less expensive for the state than institutional care. Family caregivers are often already providing this help unpaid; Home Help just makes it possible to be compensated for it.
What actually has to be true for this to work
Two things: your loved one has to be Medicaid-eligible (or willing to apply), and they need a documented need for hands-on help with at least one activity of daily living — bathing, dressing, grooming, mobility, transferring, or toileting. An MDHHS caseworker verifies this in person, not over the phone.
The one big exception
Spouses generally cannot be the paid caregiver under this specific program, and parents of minor children can't be paid to care for their own child under it either. Adult children, siblings, grandchildren, and friends are all fair game.
If this sounds like your situation, the fastest next step is our full eligibility checklist — or just tell us where you're at and we'll help you figure it out.
