Most family caregivers in Michigan do not think of themselves as caregivers. They think of themselves as daughters helping their mothers get dressed in the morning, sons driving their fathers to dialysis three times a week, or siblings managing complex medication schedules. The work is constant, physically demanding, and almost always unpaid. Many of them have cut back on their own jobs, turned down promotions, or left the workforce entirely to keep a loved one safe at home.
What most of these families do not realize is that Michigan Medicaid offers a program that allows them to become a Medicaid paid caregiver Michigan families can rely on — receiving compensation for the care they are already providing. While CDPAP is the term many families use, Michigan’s version operates under the Home Help Program through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). It allows Medicaid-enrolled individuals to choose a family member or trusted friend as their caregiver and receive payment through Medicaid for approved care hours.
At Panda Care Homecare, we have spent over 25 years turning that program into something families can actually access. We handle the Medicaid coordination, the paperwork, and the payroll, because many eligible families never apply. It is not because they do not qualify, but because the process feels too overwhelming to begin.
Eligibility runs on two tracks, one for the person receiving care and one for the person providing it. Both need to meet specific requirements before the application can move forward.
A caseworker from MDHHS visits the home to assess which daily tasks the individual needs help with and how many hours per week should be approved. Those tasks typically include bathing, dressing, meal preparation, mobility support, medication management, and housekeeping, directly tied to the person's care needs.
The hours assigned during this assessment determine the caregiver's weekly pay. Many families downplay their needs during the visit because asking for help feels uncomfortable, and that reluctance directly reduces the compensation the caregiver receives. We prepare families for this assessment at Panda Care Homecare by walking them through what the caseworker evaluates and how to present daily challenges honestly so the approved hours reflect what the household actually needs.
Adult children, siblings, friends, neighbors, and parents of minor patients all qualify. No nursing degree, medical certification, or formal training is required.
Did You Know?
In Michigan alone, as many as 1.7 million residents are quietly providing over 1.12 billion hours of unpaid care every year.
The steps follow a clear sequence, and each one builds on the one before it.
Active Michigan Medicaid must be in place before anything else happens. If Medicaid is not current, that needs to be resolved first. We review coverage for every family before any paperwork is filed, so nobody spends weeks on an application that needs a different starting point.
Contact the local MDHHS office to request a functional assessment. The caseworker observes the individual's daily limitations and assigns care hours based on the level of need. Being thorough and honest during this visit is critical because the hours approved here set the caregiver's pay for the entire authorization period.
This is where CDPAP in Michigan differs from traditional home care agencies. The person receiving care picks someone they already know and trust rather than accepting whoever an agency assigns. That choice gives families control over who enters their home and how care is delivered.
The selected caregiver completes a short onboarding covering program rules, timesheet submission, and payroll setup. After that, timesheets go in on a regular schedule, and payments follow consistently.
Once onboarding is complete and paperwork is approved, payroll can begin quickly. We manage the administrative steps between approval and payroll setup to help prevent payment delays.
Pro Tip:
Keep a daily log of every care task performed and the time spent on each one. This documentation supports approved hours during reassessments and protects the caregiver if questions come up about how hours are being used.
Compensation covers the specific tasks approved during the MDHHS assessment.
Caregivers receive regular paychecks with tax withholding and workers' compensation handled through a fiscal intermediary. At Panda Care Homecare, we serve as that intermediary. Payroll, taxes, insurance, and compliance all run through one system, so the caregiver never has to figure out tax filings or chase a late payment.
Each of these adds weeks to the timeline or reduces the number of approved hours. All of them are preventable with the right preparation before the first form is submitted.
There is no rule preventing outside employment as long as approved care hours are fulfilled and documented properly. Many caregivers balance part-time work with their caregiving schedule, and the Medicaid payments supplement that income.
A denial is not always final. The most common reasons are incomplete documentation or unverified Medicaid status, both of which can be corrected and resubmitted. Families also have the right to request a formal hearing through MDHHS to appeal the decision.
Getting paid through Medicaid to care for a family member does not require medical credentials, legal expertise, or months of navigating government offices alone. It requires active Medicaid enrollment, an honest assessment, the right documentation, and someone who knows how to keep the process moving without unnecessary delays.
At Panda Care Homecare, we have guided thousands of families across Michigan, Ohio, and Colorado through this process for over 25 years. We handle eligibility reviews, MDHHS coordination, onboarding, and payroll so caregivers can focus on providing care instead of navigating paperwork. Families who contact us after months of unpaid care receive structured guidance, administrative support, and a clear path toward compensation.
