Get Paid to Care for a Family Member or Friend in Michigan
If you already help an aging or disabled loved one with daily tasks, Michigan Medicaid will pay you for that work — at no cost to your family.
What Is the Michigan Home Help Program?
The Michigan Home Help Program (HHP) is a Medicaid-funded benefit that pays approved individuals to provide personal care to adults and seniors who need assistance with daily living activities. The program is administered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and is designed to keep Michigan residents out of nursing facilities and safely in their own homes.
Unlike private pay home care, the Home Help Program is covered entirely by Michigan Medicaid. The person receiving care pays nothing out of pocket. The caregiver — who can be a family member, friend, or trusted neighbor — receives a competitive hourly wage paid through a licensed home care agency.
The key fact most families don't know:
You may already qualify. If you are currently helping a loved one bathe, get dressed, prepare meals, or move around their home, you are likely already doing the work the program pays for.
Who Can Get Paid?
Michigan’s Home Help Program has straightforward eligibility rules. Most family members and friends who provide regular care will qualify.
Caregiver — Who Can Get Paid
- Adult children caring for parents
- Siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins
- Grandchildren caring for grandparents
- Trusted friends or close neighbors
- Must be 18 years or older
- Must pass a background check
Care Recipient — Who Qualifies
- Michigan resident living at home
- Active Michigan Medicaid enrollment
- Not currently in a nursing facility
- Adults and seniors of any age
Who cannot be paid as a caregiver: By Michigan state law, legal spouses cannot be paid to care for each other, and parents cannot be paid to care for their minor children under 18.
What Services Are Covered?
The program covers non-medical personal care — the everyday tasks that allow someone to live safely and independently at home. If you currently help your loved one with any of the following, you are performing covered work:
Bathing, showering, and personal hygiene
Dressing and grooming
Meal preparation and feeding assistance
Mobility assistance and transferring (bed to chair, etc.)
Light housekeeping and laundry
Medication reminders (not administration)
Transportation to medical appointments
Shopping and essential errands
How the Process Works With Deerwood
Enrolling in the Home Help Program involves state paperwork, MDHHS coordination, and compliance requirements. Deerwood handles all of it for you.
Submit Your Interest Form
Fill out our short form online or call (866) 815-5001. It takes under 60 seconds. No documents needed at this stage.
We Handle the State Paperwork
Our Michigan enrollment team coordinates with MDHHS on your behalf, processes your background check, completes your W-2 employment setup, and clears all program compliance requirements.
You Get Paid. We Handle the Rest.
Once approved, you continue caring for your loved one exactly as you always have. Deerwood bills Michigan Medicaid directly and pays you a competitive hourly wage as a W-2 employee — with taxes withheld and agency backing behind you.
What Deerwood manages so you don't have to:
MDHHS enrollment and renewals · W-2 payroll and tax withholdings · Background check processing · EVV (Electronic Visit Verification) compliance · Medicaid billing · Ongoing program compliance
Ready to Get Paid for the Care You Already Give?
Check eligibility in under a minute. A Michigan enrollment specialist will contact you within 24 business hours.