Michigan Home Help pay rate: what the State pays

The short answerMichigan Home Help pays an agency $27.00 an hour and an individual caregiver enrolling alone $17.13 an hour. These are the State's rates, set in ASM 138 and bulletin ASB 2026-002, and they are the same in all 83 counties. They are what the State pays the provider. They are not take-home pay, and they are not a promise of hours.

If you are already caring for a parent, the first question is usually simple: what would the State pay? The answer has two parts, the hourly rate and the number of hours. The State sets both, and they are separate decisions.

The two rates

• Individual caregiver: $17.13 an hour.
• Agency: $27.00 an hour.

Both come from the State's Adult Services Manual item ASM 138 and bulletin ASB 2026-002. The rate does not change by county. Rates can change, so confirm the current figure with your county MDHHS office.

The rate is not the paycheck

This is the part that is easy to miss. The rate is what the State pays the provider for an hour of approved care.

• An individual provider is paid directly.
• An agency employs the caregiver and pays a wage out of its rate. The wage is the agency's own decision.

So $27.00 an hour does not mean a caregiver receives $27.00 an hour. If you are weighing an agency, ask it plainly what wage it pays its caregivers.

Which number applies to you?

If you enroll with the State on your own, you are an individual provider, and the State pays you directly at the individual rate. If you work for an agency, you are its employee, and you earn the wage that agency pays, out of the agency rate. Already Caring has not set its caregiver wage yet, so we do not quote one here.

The hours are a separate decision

A rate says nothing about how many hours will be paid. Hours come from the State's assessment. An Adult Services Worker looks at the seven personal care tasks and five household tasks in ASM 120. Each is ranked from 1 to 5 by how much human help the person needs. Only tasks ranked 3 or higher are paid, and a person needs at least one personal care task ranked 3 or higher to be eligible at all. The worker sets time for each of those tasks, and the total appears on form MDHHS-6064-C as a monthly maximum.

So two families can face the same hourly rate and very different monthly totals. Our guide to what Home Help pays for goes through the tasks.

What we cannot tell you

We cannot say whether your parent qualifies, how many hours the State will approve, or whether a family member can be paid in your situation. Only the State decides. The assessment is where those answers come from, and our guide to preparing for the assessment may help you get ready for it.

Common questions

How much does Michigan Home Help pay an individual caregiver?

The State's rate for an individual caregiver enrolling alone is $17.13 an hour, per MDHHS ASM 138 and bulletin ASB 2026-002. It is the same in all 83 counties. Rates can change, so confirm the current figure with your county MDHHS office.

How much does Michigan Home Help pay an agency?

The State's rate for an agency is $27.00 an hour, per MDHHS ASM 138 and bulletin ASB 2026-002. That is what the State pays the agency. It is not the wage the agency pays its caregiver.

Is the rate the same as take-home pay?

No. The rate is what the State pays the provider. An individual provider is paid directly. An agency employs its caregivers and pays them a wage out of its rate. Ask any agency what wage it pays.

Does the rate differ by county?

No. ASM 138 and bulletin ASB 2026-002 set the same rates in all 83 Michigan counties.

Who decides how many hours are paid?

An Adult Services Worker at the State decides, after an assessment. Hours are set task by task, and the total is listed as a monthly maximum on form MDHHS-6064-C. Only the State decides who qualifies and how many hours are approved.

This is general information, not legal, tax or benefits advice. Whether someone can be paid depends on the State's decision for that person. Rules change, so confirm with MDHHS. Already Caring is a private company and is not part of MDHHS or the State of Michigan.