Program
Medicaid care at home (instead of a nursing home)
A Medicaid program that pays for care and home changes so a person can stay at home. Each state runs its own.
What it can pay for
- a home care aide
- personal care
- homemaker help
- adult day care
- respite care
- ramps
- grab bars
- wider doors
- bathroom changes
- a medical alert button
- assistive devices
- caregiver pay
- Official name
- Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (1915(c) and related waivers)
- Where
- Nationwide
- Status
- Program running
- About the amount
- Delivered as hours/units in a state-approved service plan, not a cash grant. State examples: Colorado $14,000 lifetime for home mods; Alabama ACT waiver $5,000/participant. No verified national average — don't quote unsourced figures like '$30-50K/yr' or '$10-14K lifetime.'
- Housing rules
- Adaptations apply to the participant's or family's private residence; assisted living gets services but not room and board.
- How long it takes
- Financial eligibility decided within about 45 days (90 if disability-based) per the federal standard; then a level-of-care assessment; then the waitlist.
- How to apply
- Call your state Medicaid agency, often through the ADRC or AAA (Eldercare Locator 1-800-677-1116); two parallel tracks: the Medicaid financial application and the level-of-care assessment. Ask by name for 'the aged and disabled waiver' waitlist.
- Does not pay for
- Excludes general-utility home improvements not of direct medical/remedial benefit, adding square footage (except as necessary to complete an adaptation), and room and board.
- Official source
- medicaid.gov
- Last checked
- September 28, 2026