This catches a lot of families off guard mid-hospitalization: you can't clock an EVV visit for care you're not physically providing, so hours you'd normally log simply aren't billable during an inpatient stay. That's a pause, not a termination — your provider enrollment and your loved one's Home Help case both stay on file.
Why pay pauses during a hospital or facility stay
Home Help pays for in-home personal care — help with activities like bathing, dressing, and mobility at home. Once someone is admitted to a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or short-term rehab, that facility's staff is providing care instead, so there's nothing to bill Medicaid for through the Home Help benefit during that window.
What stays active during the pause
Your CHAMPS provider enrollment doesn't lapse just because there's a gap in visits, and your loved one's underlying Home Help eligibility and approved hours stay on record. You generally don't need to reapply from scratch — you simply stop logging visits and resume once they're back home.
Getting hours going again after discharge
Once your loved one is discharged home, you pick back up logging EVV visits against the same approved hours as before. If the hospital stay revealed new or greater needs, it's worth requesting a reassessment — needs sometimes increase after a hospitalization, and MDHHS can adjust approved hours accordingly rather than leaving you capped at the old number.
What if the stay leads to a higher level of care
If a hospital stay results in a doctor recommending a nursing home or assisted living instead of a return home, Home Help eligibility changes — the program is specifically for people living at home, not in a facility. Our guide on moving between home care and assisted living walks through what that transition looks like.
