- Who can get paid, and who can’t
- What you are paid to do: Personal Assistance Services (PAS)
- Two ways to get paid: through an agency or Services My Way
- Step by step: from application to your first paycheck
- Already working with another agency? You can switch
- If your loved one doesn’t qualify for CHC
- Why caregivers work with New Century
- Frequently asked questions
Get Paid to Care for a Family Member in Pennsylvania
Get Paid to Care for a Family Member in Pennsylvania
Written by: New Century Staff
Date updated: 10/19/2026
Short answer: Yes. If your loved one qualifies for Medicaid long-term services through Community HealthChoices (CHC), a relative who is not their spouse, legal guardian, representative payee or POA can be hired by a licensed agency like New Century and paid for the Personal Assistance Services hours in their service plan.
Key points
- CHC is Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program for long-term care at home. Your loved one must be 21+ and meet both the clinical and financial eligibility rules.
- Adult children, grandchildren, siblings, other relatives and friends can be paid. A spouse, legal guardian, representative payee or POA holder cannot.
- The number of paid hours comes from your loved one’s service plan, built with their CHC service coordinator. The agency does not set it.
- You don’t need a CNA license. Pennsylvania requires a background check, two references, a TB screening and passing a competency training or exam.
- Through New Century, you are our employee: we run payroll and taxes, and you get weekly pay and benefits.
In This Article
Who can get paid, and who can’t
Under CHC, the rules depend on your legal role in your loved one’s life, not on how closely you’re related.
The CHC plans will not pay for services furnished by the participant’s spouse, legal guardian, representative payee or power of attorney (POA). The PA Health & Wellness provider bulletin of November 10, 2025 and the DHS-approved Services My Way manual both state this rule.
| Your relationship | Can be paid through CHC? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Adult child, grandchild | Yes | If you are not their POA, guardian or representative payee |
| Sibling, niece/nephew, in-law, other relative | Yes | Same condition |
| Friend or neighbor | Yes | Same condition |
| Spouse | No | Excluded by the CHC waiver |
| Legal guardian, representative payee, POA | No | Excluded by the CHC waiver |
| Designated representative (Services My Way only) | No | Excluded in the self-directed model |
A common case is an adult child who holds POA for a parent. The CHC plan will not pay that person. Families in this situation usually go over their options with the service coordinator, and some choose a different relative as the paid caregiver. The detailed rules are on our page about spouses and POA holders.
During the pandemic, temporary flexibilities allowed some exceptions. Those flexibilities ended on May 11, 2023, and OLTL said it does not expect to make exceptions.
Already caring for a relative who fits these rules? Call 215-974-0000, or fill in the form and choose “I am a caregiver” and then “I already have a client”.
What you are paid to do: Personal Assistance Services (PAS)
As a paid family caregiver, you provide Personal Assistance Services (PAS). Your loved one’s service plan lists which tasks and how many hours are approved.
Under the CHC waiver, PAS can include:
- Daily living activities. Help with eating, bathing and dressing when your loved one can’t do them alone, or reminding them step by step.
- Supervision. Staying with someone who can’t safely be left alone.
- Health maintenance. Routines such as bowel and bladder care.
- Routine support. Meal planning, keeping up with health routines, help with therapy exercises.
- Errands together. Going with your loved one to the grocery store or pharmacy.
- Light housework tied to care. Changing linens, washing bath towels, washing dishes from meals, when no one else is available to do it.
Home health aide services and nursing are separate, physician-prescribed medical services. New Century provides non-medical PAS. (PAS definition: Disability Rights Pennsylvania’s summary of the CHC waiver.)
Two ways to get paid: through an agency or Services My Way
CHC offers two models. In the agency model, a licensed home care agency hires you. In Services My Way, your loved one, or someone they designate, becomes your employer.
| Agency model (New Century) | Services My Way | |
|---|---|---|
| Who employs you | New Century Home Care | Your loved one, or a “common law employer” they designate |
| Payroll and taxes | The agency | Tempus Unlimited, the fiscal/employer agent |
| Hiring paperwork and training | The agency | Your loved one or their designated employer |
| Benefits | Weekly pay, paid sick days, paid vacation or extra pay, holiday pay, $350 signing bonus, free health insurance plan available, free life insurance, 401(k), direct deposit | Ask the service coordinator; benefits differ from agency employment |
| Who it fits | Caregivers who want an employer to handle payroll, compliance and benefits | Families who want to hire and manage workers themselves |
New Century’s pay rate follows our pay scale, and we explain it on the first call. More on how family caregiver pay works in PA.
Step by step: from application to your first paycheck
Two processes run side by side. Your loved one gets approved for care, and you get hired. Background on the program is in our PA Medicaid home care guide.
| Step | Who | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Check CHC eligibility | You and your loved one | CHC rules (below) |
| 2. Apply for long-term services | Your loved one, with your help | IEB 1-877-550-4227 or COMPASS |
| 3. Choose a CHC plan | Your loved one | Through the IEB |
| 4. Service plan | Service coordinator and your loved one | The CHC plan |
| 5. Get hired | You | New Century, 101 E Olney Ave |
| 6. Work and record visits | You | Your loved one’s home |
Step 1: Check that your loved one may qualify for CHC
CHC covers Pennsylvanians 21 and older who either have both Medicare and Medicaid, or need long-term services because they are “nursing facility clinically eligible” (NFCE).
For paid home care hours, your loved one needs to qualify for long-term services and supports. That takes both the clinical (NFCE) finding and financial eligibility for Medicaid. Income and asset rules are covered on our 2026 Medicaid eligibility page.
Step 2: Apply through the Independent Enrollment Broker (IEB)
Call the IEB at 1-877-550-4227, or start online at COMPASS. The IEB arranges an in-person assessment, which can happen at home, in a hospital or in a nursing facility.
The IEB also helps complete the Medicaid application. It goes to the County Assistance Office (CAO), which decides financial eligibility. Once approved, Medicaid coverage starts from the date of application. (PA DHS: Apply for CHC)
The application in more detail: how to apply for Medicaid home care in PA.
Step 3: Choose a CHC plan
Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties form CHC’s Southeast zone, where the program started on January 1, 2019. Your loved one chooses among three plans:
- Keystone First Community HealthChoices, AmeriHealth Caritas’s plan in the Southeast, headquartered in Philadelphia
- PA Health & Wellness
- UPMC Community HealthChoices
If your loved one doesn’t pick a plan, one is assigned.
Step 4: The service coordinator builds the service plan
The CHC plan assigns a service coordinator. Together with your loved one, they build a person-centered service plan based on the assessment. This is where PAS hours are set.
Tell the coordinator two things: you want PAS through New Century Home Care, and you will be the caregiver.
Step 5: Complete New Century’s hiring requirements
Home care agencies in Pennsylvania follow 28 Pa. Code Chapter 611. Before your first shift, you’ll complete:
- Interview. Video counts: Act 96 of 2024 allows two-way video interviews.
- Two references. From a former employer or another person who is not related to you.
- Criminal history report. A PA State Police record if you have lived in Pennsylvania for the past 2 years. Otherwise, an FBI record plus a Department of Aging letter of determination. The report must be dated within 1 year before you apply.
- TB screening. Dated no more than 1 year before your start date, then renewed every 12 months.
- Competency. A PA nurse’s license, passing the agency’s competency exam, or completing an approved training program. Required topics include infection control, emergencies, recognizing and reporting abuse or neglect, bathing, transfers, feeding, toileting and help with self-administered medications.
You can be hired provisionally while the background check is pending: up to 30 days if you have lived in PA for 2+ years, otherwise up to 90 days. You still can’t start care until the competency step is done. Full checklist: caregiver requirements in PA.
Step 6: Start working and record your visits
You work the schedule approved in the service plan. Federal law requires Medicaid-funded personal care visits to be recorded with Electronic Visit Verification (EVV). You’ll clock in and out at each visit, and we show you how during onboarding.
Already working with another agency? You can switch
Your loved one chooses which agency provides their services. To change agencies, they ask their service coordinator at the CHC plan. You can move with them as their caregiver once New Century hires you.
Ready to move? Call 215-974-0000. Our office speaks English, Russian and Ukrainian. How the transfer works: switching home care agencies.
If your loved one doesn’t qualify for CHC
PA Caregiver Support Program. This Department of Aging program runs through local Area Agencies on Aging. In Philadelphia, that’s the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA). It offers education, planning help and reimbursement of caregiving expenses.
The monthly reimbursement cap was raised to $600 in August 2021, and the Department of Aging now sets the amount. It reimburses expenses; it is not a wage.
LIFE program. This is Pennsylvania’s version of PACE, for adults 55+ who are nursing facility clinically eligible, financially eligible for Medical Assistance and live in a LIFE provider’s area. It is a care program, not a way to pay a family member.
Why caregivers work with New Century
- Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health; Office of Long Term Living (OLTL) provider.
- Works with PCA, Keystone First and AmeriHealth Caritas.
- Office at 101 E Olney Ave #270, Philadelphia, PA 19120.
- Serves Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties.
- Office staff speak English, Russian and Ukrainian.
- Weekly pay, paid sick days, paid vacation or extra pay, holiday pay, $350 signing bonus, free health insurance plan available, free life insurance, 401(k), direct deposit.
Ready to apply? See the paid family caregiver job posting. Not caring for a relative but want to work as a caregiver? See our open caregiver jobs in Philadelphia.
Start here: call 215-974-0000, or send the form and choose “I am a caregiver” and then “I already have a client”.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get paid to take care of my mom or dad in PA?
Yes, if your parent qualifies for long-term services through Community HealthChoices and you are not their spouse, legal guardian, representative payee or POA. Once their service plan includes Personal Assistance Services, a licensed agency such as New Century can hire you, and you’re paid for the approved hours.
Can a spouse be a paid caregiver in Pennsylvania?
Not through CHC. The waiver excludes the participant’s spouse, along with a legal guardian, representative payee and POA. A caregiving spouse can look into the PA Caregiver Support Program through PCA in Philadelphia, which reimburses some caregiving expenses, or ask the service coordinator about other relatives who could be paid.
Can I be paid if I live with my loved one?
The published CHC exclusions are based on role: spouse, legal guardian, representative payee and POA, plus the designated representative in Services My Way. Living in the same home is not on that list. Confirm your household’s situation with your loved one’s service coordinator before you start.
How many hours will I be paid for?
Your hours are the PAS hours in your loved one’s person-centered service plan. The CHC service coordinator sets them from the assessment of your loved one’s needs. New Century does not set or change them. If your loved one’s needs change, talk to the service coordinator.
Do I need a CNA license or certificate to start?
No. Pennsylvania requires competency, not a CNA license. You meet it with a PA nurse’s license, by passing the agency’s competency exam, or by completing an approved training program. The training covers topics such as infection control, emergencies, personal care and reporting abuse or neglect.
How long does the process take?
It depends on two steps: the in-person assessment arranged by the IEB, and the County Assistance Office’s financial review. Your hiring paperwork at New Century can run at the same time. Once your loved one is approved, Medicaid coverage starts from the date of application.
Already caring for a relative?
Get paid through Medicaid CHC as a New Century caregiver. Weekly pay, $350 signing bonus, free health insurance plan available. Call 215-974-0000.
Apply now