The hourly rate is set by the state, not by the agency
Michigan Home Help is administered by MDHHS and funded through Michigan Medicaid. The hourly rate paid to approved caregivers is set by the state. No agency can offer you more than the state rate, and any agency implying otherwise is worth a second look.
Because the rate is set at the state level, it changes periodically through the state budget process. Any specific figure you read online — including on this page — should be confirmed as current before you plan around it. We keep the rate on our site in one place and update it when MDHHS changes it, and we will tell you the current figure on a call.
Your monthly total depends on approved hours, not just the rate
This is the part that surprises families. Two caregivers paid the same hourly rate can receive very different monthly amounts, because MDHHS approves a specific number of paid hours per month based on an in-home assessment of how much help the person actually needs.
The assessment looks at each activity of daily living and scores the level of assistance required. Someone who needs help bathing but is otherwise independent will be approved for far fewer hours than someone who needs help with transfers, toileting, dressing, meals and medication. The care recipient’s needs drive the number — not how many hours the caregiver is available to work.
This is also why the assessment is worth preparing for. Not to overstate anything, but because families routinely understate what they do. When you have been helping someone bathe every day for three years it stops feeling remarkable, and people forget to mention it.
- Level of hands-on help needed with each daily activity
- Whether the person can be left alone safely, and for how long
- Medical conditions affecting mobility, memory or continence
- Whether anyone else in the household provides unpaid help
How the payment actually reaches you
Payment comes from Michigan Medicaid, not from the family receiving care. To be paid, the caregiver must be enrolled in the MDHHS CHAMPS provider enrollment system. This is a genuine administrative step and it is where a lot of applications stall — enrollment errors are among the most common reasons a first payment gets delayed.
Zentra handles the enrollment and payment processing side, which is the practical reason to work with an agency rather than going it alone. There is no cost to your family for this, and no out-of-pocket cost to the person receiving care.
How long before the first payment
Most families complete the process in roughly 30 to 45 days, depending on how quickly MDHHS schedules the assessment and processes the paperwork. That window is largely outside any agency’s control — what an agency can do is submit correctly the first time and follow up so nothing sits in a queue unnoticed.
Be cautious of anyone promising a specific approval date. The timeline depends on state processing, and honest agencies will tell you that.
Is the pay taxable?
It depends on your circumstances, and this is one to get right rather than guess at. There is a federal payroll-tax exemption available to some family caregivers who live in the same home as the person they care for — the relevant form is the IRS-recognized difficulty-of-care exclusion, filed through MDHHS.
Whether you qualify depends on your living arrangement and relationship. We can point you to the correct form, but for your specific tax situation you should talk to a tax professional.