Can Family Caregivers Get Paid? (Maryland)

You’ve cut your hours, spent your savings, and become a full-time caregiver. What if that work could actually be paid?

In Maryland, some programs can pay family members to provide care. Medicaid’s Community First Choice and related self-directed programs let qualifying seniors choose their own caregiver — and in many cases, that caregiver can be an adult child or other relative, with special rules for spouses. Veterans programs offer similar paths, and Aid and Attendance dollars can go toward family-provided care in some arrangements. Some long-term care insurance policies cover family caregivers — read the policy. And families with means can formalize a personal care agreement: a written contract that pays a relative fairly and keeps Medicaid’s look-back rules clean.

If caregiving has become your unpaid second job, ask about these programs before giving up your paid one. The support may already exist — most families simply never hear about it.

This has been Care Without Crisis Explains, presented by Vanguard Care Solutions.

For more free videos and family resources — or when you’re ready to talk about care at home — visit vanguardcaresolutions.com or call 301-327-1444.