Medicaid for Michigan Residents Needing Assisted Living or Home Health Care

Michigan's Medicaid program will pay for certain types of long-term care services for seniors and people with disabilities. The state often covers the cost of nursing homes and home health care. But Michigan's Medicaid program won't pay for some of the costs of an assisted living facility. But that doesn't mean Medicaid won't help with other long-term care expenses when you live at home, in an assisted living center, or in another community setting.

Does Medicaid Pay for Assisted Living Facilities in Michigan?

Michigan doesn't have a Medicaid program that will pay for room and board in an assisted living facility. But if you're enrolled in any of the Medicaid programs discussed below, such as the MI Choice or the MI Health Link HCBS waiver program, your Medicaid benefits will cover some of your expenses while you live in an assisted living facility, like the cost of physical therapy, nursing care, eating or feeding assistance, medication management, and toileting and dressing, if needed.

Home Health Services Provided by Michigan Medicaid

Home health services are an entitlement under Michigan Medicaid. That means if you receive Medicaid—whether direct-pay or managed care—the program will pay for home care services such as skilled nursing care or therapy services. For Medicaid to pay for home health services, they must be:

• medically necessary
• prescribed by your doctor or primary care provider as part of a plan of care for a particular condition, and
• directed at curing, healing, or rehabilitating you.

If you need ongoing home health services (like long-term nursing services or physical therapy), Medicaid won't cover that type of help unless you qualify for one of the state's Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver programs: the MI Choice Waiver or MI Health Link HCBS Waiver. Because Medicaid waiver programs aren't entitlements, you might encounter a waiting list for services.

To qualify for the MI Choice or MI Health Link HCBS waiver, you must have income at or below 300% of the monthly SSI benefit amount, or $2,901 in 2025. You also must have less than $9,660 in assets. If you're married, Medicaid allows your spouse to keep some of your income and assets. (Learn about Michigan Medicaid's income and asset limits for long-term care.)

Michigan Medicaid MI Choice Waiver

If you qualify for MI Choice, you can receive a wide variety of services, including:

• nursing services
• respite services
• adult day health services
• transportation
• chore services
• home-delivered meals, and
• changes to your home to make it more accessible.

To qualify for MI Choice, you must be able to show that you‘d have to live in a nursing home if you didn't receive MI Choice waiver services. You must also be able to show you can live safely at home with the services.

To apply for MI Choice, contact the waiver agency in your region.

Michigan Medicaid MI Health Link HCBS Waiver

Michigan also offers home and community-based services for seniors (65 and older) and adults with disabilities (ages 21-64) through the MI Health Link HCBS waiver. To qualify for services, you must qualify for both Medicaid and Medicare and need a nursing facility level of care.

The MI Health Link waiver provides all the following services:

• adult day care
• respite services
• adaptive medical equipment and supplies
• help managing your finances
• assistive technology
• chore services
• home and vehicle accessibility modifications
• home-delivered meals
• non-medical transportation
• personal emergency response systems, and
• private duty nursing.

MI Health Link HCBS waivers provide these and other long-term care services aimed at helping seniors and people with disabilities or chronic medical conditions continue living at home or in a community setting, like an assisted living center. Learn more about MI Health Link HCBS waiver services from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Michigan's Home Help Services Program

Michigan Medicaid also operates a program called Home Help Services for seniors who need extra help to stay in their own homes. Home Help Services is an entitlement program, so there's no limit to the number of Michigan residents who can qualify for these services.

With Home Help Services, you hire your own caregiver to help you with activities of daily living, and Medicaid pays the cost. Your caregiver can be a friend or family member (but not your spouse), or you can use an agency.

To qualify for MI Medicaid's Home Help Services program, you must have regular (AD) Medicaid. You must also have a medical condition, physical disability, or cognitive impairment that causes functional limitations requiring you to have help with at least one of the following activities of daily living (ADLs):

• bathing
• grooming
• dressing
• eating
• moving around inside your home
• transferring from one position to another (like moving from a chair to your bed), or
• toileting.

If you qualify for help with one of these ADLs, the Home Help Services program might also pay for help with certain instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), such as light housework, laundry, meal prep and clean up, and shopping for groceries and medication.

If you need it, Michigan's Home Help Services program can also cover the cost of complex care tasks, including:

• catheter care
• colostomy care
• eating or feeding assistance
• range of motion exercises
• wound care or specialized skin care
• respiratory treatment
• ventilator or tracheostomy care, or
• peritoneal dialysis (in your home).

To qualify, you must meet Medicaid's income and asset requirements (in 2025, that's no more than $1,304 per month in income and $9,660 in assets). Your doctor must also submit a form saying that you need help in your home. Then an assessor from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will visit you and evaluate how much assistance you need with activities around your house.

Medicaid will tell you how many hours of assistance it will pay for each month, but there's no maximum number of hours you can qualify for.

To apply for Home Help Services, contact your local MDHHS office.

Michigan's PACE Program

Michigan operates a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). To qualify for PACE, you must be 55 or older and live in one of the areas served by PACE providers. You must also require a nursing home level of care and be able to live safely in the community with PACE services.

PACE participants receive their services from an interdisciplinary team of professionals, including physicians, nurses, and social workers, whose role is to coordinate individualized care and services to keep seniors in their own homes and communities.

PACE participants must have Medicaid, Medicare, or both. If you qualify, you'll receive all PACE services—including long-term care services—with no deductible.

If you're interested in a PACE program, apply directly to that program, and the program will help determine your eligibility.

Supportive Services for Michiganders Who Don't Qualify for Medicaid

Even if you don't qualify for Medicaid and don't need a nursing home level of care, you might still qualify for some personal assistance services if you're physically disabled and need help with activities of daily living like:

• eating
• dressing, or
• bathing.

Michigan's Area Agencies on Aging administer supportive programs that vary by region. To learn about the services available in your area, contact your local AAA or call the Area Agencies on Aging information line at 800-654-2810.