How Much Do Family Caregivers Get Paid in Michigan? (2026 Rates)

How much do family members get paid for caregiving in Michigan? Through the Medicaid Home Help program, they earn an hourly rate set by MDHHS, multiplied by the monthly hours approved at an in-home assessment. Through Supportive Solutions, caregivers earn a minimum of $18 per hour. Monthly pay therefore depends on your loved one’s assessed needs, not on a flat stipend.

On this page

1. How much do family members get paid for caregiving in Michigan in 2026?
2. How are Home Help hours calculated?
3. What does that look like in monthly pay?
4. Does pay differ between an agency and an individual provider?
5. Are Home Help payments taxable?
6. How can you increase your authorized hours?
7. Frequently asked questions

How much do family members get paid for caregiving in Michigan in 2026?

The Michigan Home Help program pays individual providers a single statewide hourly rate. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) sets the rate, and it changes when the state budget adjusts Medicaid funding. There is no separate “family rate.” A daughter caring for her father is paid the same hourly rate as an unrelated individual provider.

Through Supportive Solutions, caregivers earn a minimum of $18 per hour.

Most families are surprised by two things. First, the rate itself is only half the equation. Second, you are paid for authorized hours, which are usually fewer than the hours you actually spend helping. Understanding how hours are calculated matters more than the rate.

How are Home Help hours calculated?

Hours are set at the in-home assessment. An Adult Services Worker from the MDHHS county office visits your loved one, goes through each activity of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL), and scores how much help is needed for each one.

The tasks that generate hours

• ADLs: eating, toileting, bathing, grooming, dressing, transferring, and mobility
• IADLs: medication help, meal preparation, shopping, laundry, and housework

Each task is assigned an amount of time based on how often it is needed and how much hands-on help is required. Someone who needs to be fully bathed and dressed every day generates far more time than someone who needs standby help twice a week. The worker adds the task times together to produce a monthly total, and that total is what MDHHS authorizes.

Why the assessment matters so much

The assessment is where pay is decided. Families who describe their loved one’s best days, or who say “we manage,” routinely end up with fewer hours than they need. Describe the hardest days, name every task, and mention safety issues like falls, wandering, or incontinence. Cases with very high needs go through an additional MDHHS review called Expanded Home Help Services. Our post on what happens at the Home Help assessment visit explains how to prepare.

What does that look like in monthly pay?

So how much do family members get paid for caregiving each month? Because pay equals rate times hours, the easiest way to picture it is with examples. Every figure below is an illustration built from our $18 per hour minimum and is not a promise of what MDHHS will authorize for your family.

Typical situation	Illustrative authorized hours	Illustrative monthly pay
Help with laundry, shopping, and meals a few times a week, plus standby help bathing	40 hours per month	at least $720
Daily help with bathing, dressing, and meals, plus weekly housework and shopping	80 hours per month	at least $1,440
Extensive daily help with most ADLs, including toileting and transfers, plus all IADLs	120 hours per month	at least $2,160

Real authorizations fall above and below these examples. The point is that your loved one’s needs, documented carefully, are what move the number. Our family caregiver pay rate page keeps a current example set, and our free Medicaid eligibility check tells you whether your loved one is likely to qualify in the first place.

Does pay differ between an agency and an individual provider?

Yes, it can. How much do family members get paid for caregiving through an agency versus on their own? Michigan Home Help has two kinds of providers, and MDHHS pays them differently.

Individual providers

An individual provider is a person your loved one chooses, enrolled in CHAMPS under their own name. MDHHS pays that person directly at the individual provider hourly rate. You handle your own enrollment, EVV, and paperwork, and you are responsible for your own coverage if you are sick or on vacation.

Agency providers

An agency provider is a Home Help agency approved by MDHHS. The state pays the agency an agency rate, and the agency pays its caregivers a wage it sets. Agencies typically offer help with enrollment, training, backup coverage, and someone to call when something goes wrong. Because the agency covers those costs, the caregiver’s wage can be lower or higher than the individual provider rate depending on the agency.

Whichever route you take, get the pay rate in writing before you start. Supportive Solutions Homecare tells families the exact rate up front and explains how it compares with enrolling as an individual provider. Read get paid to care for a family member to see how we support both paths.

Are Home Help payments taxable?

It depends on where you live. Home Help payments are wages, and MDHHS reports them. But under IRS Notice 2014-7, Medicaid waiver and personal care payments made to a caregiver who lives in the same home as the person receiving care are treated as difficulty-of-care payments and can be excluded from federal gross income.

In practice:

• If you live with your loved one, your Home Help pay may be excludable from federal income tax. You may still need to file, and payroll taxes such as Social Security and Medicare may still be withheld.
• If you live separately, the exclusion generally does not apply, and your Home Help pay is taxable income like any other wage.
• Michigan generally follows the federal treatment for state income tax, but confirm with a tax professional.

Tax rules change, and the exclusion can affect earned income credits and Social Security work credits in ways that are not always favorable. Talk to a tax preparer who knows Notice 2014-7, and read our explainer on whether Home Help payments are taxable in Michigan.

How can you increase your authorized hours?

Authorized hours are not permanent. If they no longer match your loved one’s needs, you can ask MDHHS to look again. These steps work.

1. Request a reassessment. Call the Adult Services Worker and say that your loved one’s condition has changed. A hospitalization, a fall, a new diagnosis, or worsening dementia are all valid reasons. MDHHS also reviews cases on a regular schedule, but you do not have to wait for it.
2. Bring documentation. Ask the doctor for updated notes describing the new limitations. Discharge papers, physical therapy reports, and medication lists all help.
3. Keep a task log. For one to two weeks, write down every time you help with an ADL or IADL and how long it took. Workers respond to specifics.
4. Name every task. Families often forget medication setup, help getting to the toilet at night, or the time it takes to coax someone with dementia into the shower. If it is hands-on help, it counts.
5. Ask about Expanded Home Help Services. If needs are very high, the worker can submit the case for additional state review that allows more hours than the standard process.
6. Appeal if you disagree. If the new authorization still seems too low, you have the right to request a hearing. The notice from MDHHS explains the deadline.

If hours are still not enough, ask whether the MI Choice Waiver fits. It serves people at a nursing-facility level of care and covers services Home Help does not, such as respite and adult day care. Our MI Choice Waiver page explains eligibility.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Medicaid pay for a caregiver in Michigan?

Michigan Medicaid pays Home Help individual providers a statewide hourly rate set by MDHHS. Through Supportive Solutions, caregivers earn a minimum of $18 per hour. Total monthly pay is that rate multiplied by the hours authorized at the in-home assessment, so it varies widely from one family to another.

How many hours per month will Home Help pay for?

There is no fixed number. Hours are built from the assessment, task by task, based on how much hands-on help your loved one needs with bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, mobility, meals, shopping, laundry, and housework. Light needs may produce a few hours a week; extensive daily needs can produce several hours a day. Very high cases go through Expanded Home Help Services review.

How much does a live-in caregiver get paid in Michigan?

Living with the person you care for does not change the Home Help hourly rate, and Home Help does not pay a 24-hour or overnight rate. You are paid for authorized task hours only. The advantage for live-in family caregivers is tax treatment: under IRS Notice 2014-7, payments to a caregiver who shares the home may be excluded from federal income tax.

How and when are Home Help caregivers paid?

MDHHS pays individual providers through CHAMPS, the state Medicaid provider system, on its regular payment cycle. Payments are based on visits recorded in the electronic visit verification (EVV) system, so missed or late clock-ins can delay pay. Direct deposit is available and is the fastest option. Agency caregivers are paid by their agency on the agency’s payroll schedule.

How much does respite care pay in Michigan?

Home Help does not have a separate respite rate. If a second person provides care while the primary caregiver takes a break, that person can be enrolled as an additional individual provider and paid the same hourly rate for the authorized hours they cover. Respite as a distinct service, with its own funding, is available through the MI Choice Waiver and some Area Agency on Aging programs.