Michigan Medicaid Home Help Services
Trinity Home Assistance helps eligible Michigan Medicaid members receive authorized personal care and homemaker support in their own homes. The Michigan Home Help program may cover hands-on assistance with bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, mobility, toileting, transfers, meal preparation, laundry, light housework, essential shopping, and certain medication-related tasks. We serve members and families throughout Metro Detroit, including communities in Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties.
Michigan Medicaid Home Help Services
Trinity Home Assistance helps eligible Michigan Medicaid members receive authorized personal care and homemaker support in their own homes. The Michigan Home Help program may cover hands-on assistance with bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, mobility, toileting, transfers, meal preparation, laundry, light housework, essential shopping, and certain medication-related tasks. We serve members and families throughout Metro Detroit, including communities in Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties.
The Program Gave Their Family a Clearer Path Forward
James wanted to remain in the apartment where he had lived for more than 20 years. After a stroke affected his balance and strength, everyday activities became harder.
His sister, Lisa, began helping him bathe, get dressed, prepare meals, and wash his clothes. She wanted to support him, but she was unsure what Medicaid might cover or whom she needed to contact.
“We kept hearing different terms, but no one had explained the whole process in a way we understood,” Lisa said.
The family learned that Michigan’s Home Help program may fund personal care for eligible Medicaid members who need hands-on assistance with daily activities. An adult services worker from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, commonly called MDHHS, would need to assess James and determine whether he qualified.
After the assessment and authorization process, the family had a clearer understanding of which tasks could be provided. James remained involved in choosing his caregiver and directing how his daily routine was handled.
Lisa still supported her brother, but the family no longer felt as though they were trying to build a care plan without guidance.
For many Michigan families, the hardest part is knowing where to begin. Understanding Home Help can turn a confusing situation into a more organized plan for receiving care at home.
What Is the Michigan Medicaid Home Help Program?
Michigan Home Help is a Medicaid-funded program administered by MDHHS. It supports eligible people who need assistance with daily activities and want to continue living in their own homes instead of moving to an adult foster care home, home for the aged, or nursing facility.
The program provides personal care services for Medicaid members who need hands-on help with activities of daily living, also called ADLs. It may also authorize certain instrumental activities of daily living, known as IADLs.
Activities of daily living may include:
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Eating
- Grooming
- Mobility
- Toileting
- Transfers
Instrumental activities of daily living may include:
- Meal preparation and cleanup
- Laundry
- Light housework
- Shopping for essential items
- Certain medication setup or administration tasks
Services are based on an individual assessment. Home Help is not an automatic benefit for every person with Medicaid, a disability, or a medical diagnosis.
Trinity Home Assistance does not determine eligibility or authorize hours. Our role is to provide approved services and help members and caregivers understand the process of beginning care with our agency.
Who May Qualify for Home Help?
A person generally must have active Michigan Medicaid and need hands-on assistance with at least one activity of daily living. Medicare alone does not meet the Medicaid eligibility requirement for Home Help.
MDHHS considers several factors, including:
- Medicaid eligibility
- Medical need
- Functional limitations
- The amount of physical assistance required
- The person’s living arrangement
- Available help from responsible relatives
- The tasks needed to support independent living
Functional limitations may result from a physical disability, medical condition, cognitive impairment, or a combination of needs.
A diagnosis does not automatically qualify someone. Two people with the same condition may have very different abilities and care requirements.
The applicant’s medical need must also be certified using an accepted MDHHS or Veterans Health Administration form completed by an approved medical provider. Michigan added the MDHHS-6200 Adult Services Medical Needs Certification form as an accepted option in 2026.
Final eligibility and service decisions are made by MDHHS.
Home Help Is Not the Only Medicaid Pathway
Michigan Home Help is an important source of personal care for eligible Medicaid members, but some people receive their in-home services through a different Medicaid arrangement.
If you have both Medicare and Medicaid, you may qualify for MI Coordinated Health, Michigan’s HIDE D-SNP program. MICH launched in 2026 and integrates Medicare with most Medicaid benefits, including long-term services and supports, through participating health plans. (MDHHS)
A person enrolled in MI Coordinated Health who receives personal care through the HIDE D-SNP does not receive Michigan Home Help personal care at the same time. Michigan policy directs those members to receive personal care through their MICH plan. (Michigan DHHS)
Trinity Home Assistance can work with families to identify whether care may be arranged through:
- Traditional Michigan Medicaid Home Help
- MI Coordinated Health HIDE D-SNP authorization
- Private pay
Private pay is also available for people who do not qualify for Medicaid-funded services or who want additional care outside their authorized benefit.
Benefits of Michigan Home Help
The Opportunity to Remain at Home
Many people want to stay close to familiar belongings, neighbors, routines, and family members.
Home Help is designed to support people who wish to live in their own homes rather than move into a residential care setting.
Receiving assistance at home may help a member maintain greater control over daily choices, including when to get dressed, what to eat, and how personal routines are completed.
Help With Essential Personal Care
Bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, and moving through the home are basic parts of daily life.
When a person cannot complete these activities without physical help, Home Help may provide authorized assistance based on the MDHHS assessment.
Care should support the member’s abilities rather than automatically taking over every part of the activity.
Support With Household Routines
A member who qualifies for personal care may also receive authorized help with certain household activities.
Meal preparation, laundry, light housework, and essential shopping can become difficult because of limited strength, balance, endurance, mobility, or cognitive ability.
These services help support the member’s personal care and ability to remain at home. They are not intended to provide general housekeeping for the entire household.
Choice of Caregiver
Michigan Home Help members have the right to choose a caregiver who meets applicable program requirements. The caregiver may be an eligible relative, friend, neighbor, individual provider, or agency caregiver.
Certain restrictions apply. For example, a spouse cannot be paid through Home Help to care for a spouse, and a parent cannot be paid through the program to care for a minor child.
A More Organized Care Plan
Informal caregiving can become confusing when several people are helping without clear responsibilities.
A Home Help authorization identifies the services approved for the member. This gives the member, family, caregiver, and agency a clearer understanding of what Medicaid-funded care includes.
The plan may change if the member’s needs change, but updates must go through the appropriate MDHHS process.
Medicaid Home Help Services We Provide
Trinity Home Assistance provides nonmedical services according to each member’s current authorization.
Personal care provides physical assistance with essential daily activities.
Authorized help may include:
- Bathing or showering
- Dressing and undressing
- Grooming and personal hygiene
- Eating or feeding
- Toileting
- Walking or moving through the home
- Transfers between a bed, chair, toilet, or other surface
Personal care is provided with attention to privacy, comfort, and the member’s preferences.
Michigan uses the term instrumental activities of daily living for approved household tasks.
Depending on authorization, Trinity Home Assistance may provide:
- Meal preparation and cleanup
- Laundry for the member
- Light housework
- Essential shopping
- Certain medication-related assistance
Home Help does not cover heavy housework, home repairs, or yard work.
Older adults may need a combination of personal care and homemaker assistance to continue living independently.
Senior home care may support an authorized routine that includes bathing, dressing, meals, laundry, light household tasks, mobility, and other approved needs.
A person living with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia may qualify when they need hands-on help with covered daily activities.
Caregivers can use a calm, patient approach while assisting with approved tasks such as bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, toileting, mobility, and meal preparation.
General supervision, prompting, reminders, and companionship are not covered as stand-alone Home Help services.
A caregiver may provide friendly conversation and social interaction while completing approved personal care or homemaker tasks.
However, Medicaid-funded time must remain connected to the member’s authorization. Home Help does not pay solely for companionship, social visits, or someone remaining in the home for general supervision.
A member may already have a trusted adult relative, friend, or neighbor providing daily assistance.
That person may be able to become an approved caregiver after completing applicable enrollment, screening, and agency requirements.
Trinity Home Assistance helps prospective caregivers understand the agency process, but employment and Medicaid approval are not guaranteed.
Services Home Help Does Not Cover
Michigan Home Help is a personal care program with specific boundaries.
It does not generally pay for:
- General supervision
- Prompting or reminders
- Stand-alone companionship
- General transportation
- Heavy housework
- Home repairs
- Yard work
- Care for unrelated household members
- Skilled nursing treatment unless separately authorized through another benefit
- Services that are not included in the member’s plan
Families should not assume that every form of nonmedical home care is covered.
For example, a caregiver may speak warmly with a member while preparing an authorized meal. The covered service is meal preparation, not the conversation itself.
A caregiver may provide reassurance while helping with bathing. The covered service is the approved physical bathing assistance.
Trinity Home Assistance follows the member’s authorization and does not bill Medicaid for noncovered activities.
How to Apply for Michigan Home Help
1. Contact the Local MDHHS Adult Services Unit
The applicant or family should contact the Adult Services unit at the local county MDHHS office.
The state directs people interested in Home Help to their local MDHHS office to begin the process.
2. Confirm Medicaid Eligibility
Home Help is Medicaid-funded. The applicant must have qualifying active Medicaid coverage.
A person with Medicare but no Medicaid does not qualify for Medicaid-funded Home Help.
3. Obtain Medical Certification
An approved medical provider must certify the applicant’s medical need using an accepted form.
The medical certification supports the application, but it does not determine the final authorization.
4. Complete the In-Home Assessment
An MDHHS adult services worker meets with the applicant and completes a comprehensive assessment.
The assessment considers which activities the person can perform independently, which require physical assistance, and how long approved tasks may reasonably take.
5. Receive an Eligibility and Service Decision
MDHHS determines whether the person qualifies and which services may be authorized.
The decision may identify specific personal care and household tasks. It may not include every activity the family requested.
6. Choose a Caregiver
The member may select a qualified caregiver or work with an approved agency, subject to Medicaid and agency requirements.
Trinity Home Assistance can discuss caregiver availability and whether a trusted person may be considered for an agency role.
Caregiver Enrollment and CHAMPS
Home Help caregivers must complete Michigan Medicaid provider enrollment requirements before they can be paid.
CHAMPS stands for the Community Health Automated Medicaid Processing System. Individual caregivers must have an approved CHAMPS enrollment to receive reimbursement for covered services. They may enroll independently or associate with an enrolled Home Help agency.
Enrollment may include:
- Creating a MiLogin account
- Applying through CHAMPS
- Providing identifying and tax information
- Completing criminal history screening
- Associating with an approved agency, when applicable
- Keeping enrollment information current
- Completing required revalidation
Submitting an application does not mean the caregiver is approved.
Care should not begin as paid Medicaid service until the member’s authorization, caregiver enrollment, and agency requirements are complete.
Electronic Visit Verification and Service Records
Michigan uses Electronic Visit Verification, commonly called EVV, for many Home Help visits.
EVV records information such as the date, time, location, type of personal care service, and the people providing and receiving the service.
As of September 3, 2024, Home Help individual caregivers generally must use EVV unless an exemption applies. Michigan also directs caregivers to continue using the applicable service verification method while payment procedures remain in place.
Caregivers must accurately document:
- When care began and ended
- Which approved services were provided
- The member who received care
- The caregiver who provided it
- Required service verification information
Caregivers should never record services that were not completed, claim noncovered activities, or submit more time than was authorized.
Why Choose Trinity Home Assistance?
A Focus on Michigan Medicaid Home Help
Trinity Home Assistance understands that Medicaid-funded care involves specific eligibility, authorization, caregiver enrollment, and documentation requirements.
We explain our role in clear language and avoid promising approval or services that have not been authorized.
Respect for Member Choice
The member remains central to the care plan.
We listen to preferences about routines, communication, personal care, meals, and how assistance should be provided.
Needing help does not remove a person’s right to make choices.
Support for Trusted Caregivers
A family member, friend, or neighbor may already understand the member’s needs and routines.
We can explain whether that person may be considered for a caregiver role through Trinity Home Assistance and which steps may be required.
Care Based on the Approved Plan
Caregivers need clear guidance about what they may provide.
We review authorized tasks and agency expectations so care remains consistent with Michigan Medicaid requirements.
Local Service Across Metro Detroit
Trinity Home Assistance serves eligible Medicaid members in communities throughout Macomb and Oakland counties, including:
Warren, Sterling Heights, Southfield, St. Clair Shores, Mount Clemens, Macomb, Madison Heights, Clinton Township, Utica, and Farmington Hills.
Members in nearby areas may contact us to confirm current service and caregiver availability.
How to Begin Care With Trinity Home Assistance
1. Contact Our Team
2. Share Your Current Home Help Status
Let us know which services have been authorized and whether you already have a caregiver.
Do not send private medical or Medicaid information through an unsecured website form unless the form is specifically designed to protect that information.
3. Complete Caregiver and Agency Requirements
The selected caregiver must satisfy all applicable screening, enrollment, employment, training, and documentation requirements.
4. Begin Authorized Services
Once approvals are complete, care begins according to the member’s authorized tasks and schedule.
Trinity Home Assistance will explain agency procedures and whom to contact when care needs or circumstances change.
Get Clear Guidance About Medicaid Home Help
Understanding Michigan Medicaid Home Help can feel overwhelming, especially when a family is already managing illness, disability, or increasing care needs.
Trinity Home Assistance helps eligible members and caregivers understand the agency process and begin authorized support at home.