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Massachusetts Personal Care Attendant (PCA) Program
Overview of the MassHealth Personal Care Attendant Program
The PCA program provides personal care services to elderly and disabled Massachusetts residents. A goal of the program is to enable independent living and prevent unnecessary or premature nursing home institutionalization. Therefore this program is only relevant to individuals that wish to remain living in their homes or in the homes of family members.
It is based on Medicaid’s Cash and Counseling model where the participants are responsible for the self-direction of their care. Individuals are provided with funds, by way of a fiscal intermediary, to hire their own personal care attendants to assist them with their activities of daily living. The program participant acts as an employer. In Massachusetts, individuals can hire friends, neighbors and even some family members to work as their personal care attendant. Spouses and legal guardians are not eligible to be hired. However; the adult children of an aging parent can be paid for the caregiving services they provide.
Qualifications for the Personal Care Attendant Program
To qualify for this program, an individual must have a permanent disability that requires them to receive assistance to perform their activities of daily living such as bathing, grooming, eating and personal hygiene.
In addition, they must be financially qualified to receive Medicaid (MassHealth) services. Qualifying for Medicaid is a complicated process involving a review of a family’s income, assets and asset transfers as far back as 5 years. Rules change frequently and there are many exceptions, but typically monthly income cannot exceed $2,000 and “countable asset” limits, excluding the car and home, range from $2,000 to $8,000.
Not qualifying for Medicaid can be devastating to the comfort of an individual, their family’s finances and even their health. For these reasons, Medicaid planners exist to ensure families have the best chance of acceptance into the program. With care costing $1000’s / month, there is a strong incentive to use a Medicaid Planner. Find assistance applying for Medicaid.
In addition, they must be financially qualified to receive Medicaid (MassHealth) services. Qualifying for Medicaid is a complicated process involving a review of a family’s income, assets and asset transfers as far back as 5 years. Rules change frequently and there are many exceptions, but typically monthly income cannot exceed $2,000 and “countable asset” limits, excluding the car and home, range from $2,000 to $8,000.
Not qualifying for Medicaid can be devastating to the comfort of an individual, their family’s finances and even their health. For these reasons, Medicaid planners exist to ensure families have the best chance of acceptance into the program. With care costing $1000’s / month, there is a strong incentive to use a Medicaid Planner. Find assistance applying for Medicaid.
Benefits / Services Covered by Personal Care Attendant Program
Assistance with the activities or instrumental activities of daily living are covered by this program. These include personal assistance with bathing, grooming, toileting, eating and personal hygiene as well as homemaker services such as housecleaning, laundry, meal preparation and shopping for essentials. Assistance with transportation is also considered an eligible service.
How to Apply for Personal Care Attendant Program
One applies for services by going through a Personal Care Management (PCM) Agency. A complete list of agencies and contact information is available in this downloadable PDF Consumer Handbook. Alternatively one can call MassHealth at 1-800-841-2900.
Use our Eldercare Financial Resource Locator Tool to find other public and private programs that can help pay for or reduce the costs of long term care for the elderly.
