Does Medicare pay family caregivers?

Does Medicare pay a family member to provide care?

No. Help with basic personal tasks of everyday life, like dressing, bathing and using the bathroom, is part of what Medicare calls long-term care (also called custodial care). Medicare and most health insurance, including Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap), don't pay for long-term care services, including care in a nursing home or in the community, and you pay all costs for non-covered services, including most long-term care.

When Medicare does cover home health care, a doctor or other health care provider must order it and a Medicare-certified home health agency must provide it. Medicare's home health benefit only pays for services you get from the home health agency, and it covers home health aide care only part-time or intermittently, while you also get skilled nursing care or therapy. See whether Medicare pays for in-home caregivers.

What does Medicare cover for family caregivers?

Some Medicare-covered services support family caregivers:

• Caregiver training (Part B): individual or group sessions that teach a caregiver skills like giving medications, helping with daily tasks, moving the patient safely, preventing bedsores and infections, and caring for wounds. See Medicare caregiver training.
• Home health teaching: Medicare home health skilled nursing care includes patient and caregiver education, and home health staff teach you, and family or friends who may be helping you, to continue any care you may need.
• Hospice support: if the person you care for gets hospice care, Medicare covers inpatient respite care so the caregiver can rest, and the hospice plan of care can include spiritual and grief counseling for the patient and family.
• The GUIDE Model: for people living with dementia and their unpaid caregivers, participating providers offer caregiver training and support and, for qualifying caregivers, respite services.

Who qualifies for Medicare caregiver training, and what does it cost?

A caregiver qualifies for Medicare Part B caregiver training when a health care provider determines the training is appropriate for the patient's treatment plan and both conditions below apply, and after the Part B deductible ($283 in 2026), you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount. The caregiver can get individual or group sessions without the patient present, in person or through telehealth, from Medicare providers including doctors, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse-midwives, physician assistants, clinical psychologists and therapists (including physical and occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists).

Caregivers are eligible if both of these conditions apply:

• The training focuses on helping the patient meet the health and treatment goals they set with their doctor or other health care provider.
• The patient needs a caregiver's help for their treatment to succeed.

What does the GUIDE Model offer dementia caregivers?

The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model is a voluntary, nationwide CMS model for people with dementia and their caregivers that began on July 1, 2024, and will run for 8 years. In GUIDE, caregivers are relatives or unpaid nonrelatives who help with daily activities. Participating providers must offer a caregiver support program with skills training, information on the dementia diagnosis, support groups and one-on-one support calls, and they connect patients and caregivers to care navigation, a 24/7 support line and community resources. Respite services are available to qualifying caregivers up to an annual cap. GUIDE participants can't charge aligned patients any amount for GUIDE services, including respite.

To qualify, the person must have dementia confirmed by a clinician on the GUIDE participant's practitioner roster, be enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B with Medicare as the primary payer (not in a Medicare Advantage plan, including a Special Needs Plan, or PACE), live in a private residence or an approved residential care community that has agreed to partner with a GUIDE participant (not a long-term nursing home or a memory care unit), not have elected the Medicare hospice benefit, and not already be aligned to another GUIDE participant. See what Medicare covers for dementia care.

Can a family caregiver get paid through Medicaid or the VA?

Some government programs pay family or friends of people with disabilities to help with daily activities, like personal care, giving medicine, cooking and cleaning:

• Medicaid: if someone with a disability already receives Medicaid, their state may allow a family member or friend to become a paid caregiver. Many states call this a consumer-directed personal assistance program; requirements, rules and pay vary by state, so contact your state's Medicaid office.
• VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers: eligible Primary Family Caregivers may get a monthly stipend, along with other benefits like at least 30 days of respite care a year. The Veteran must have a VA disability rating of 70% or higher, have been discharged from the U.S. military or have a date of medical discharge, need at least 6 months of continuous, in-person personal care services, and be enrolled in VA health care. The caregiver must be at least 18 and be the Veteran's spouse, son, daughter, parent, stepfamily member or extended family member, or live full time with the Veteran (or be willing to, if VA designates them as a family caregiver).
• VA Veteran Directed Care: Veterans in this program get a budget for services that the Veteran or the Veteran's representative manages, and with a counselor's help they hire their own workers, which might include their own family member or neighbor. Enrolled Veterans are eligible if they're eligible for community care, meet the clinical criteria for the service and the service is available.
• VA Aid and Attendance benefits: monthly payments added to the amount of a monthly VA pension for qualified Veterans and survivors. A Veteran or survivor who gets a VA pension may be eligible if they meet at least 1 requirement, such as needing another person to help with daily activities like bathing, feeding and dressing.
• Long-term care insurance: some policies allow family members to get paid as caregivers.

Does Medicare Advantage or Medigap pay family caregivers?

Medigap doesn't pay for long-term care services. Medicare Advantage plans must cover all medically necessary services that Original Medicare covers, and some offer extra benefits; rules and costs vary by plan, so check with a plan before you join to find out exactly what it covers. People enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, including a Special Needs Plan, aren't eligible for the GUIDE Model.