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Medicaid services for people with disabilities

Medicaid is a health insurance plan and covers things like doctor's visits, medicines, and hospital stays.

But it also offers special services to people with disabilities.  It's important to make sure your family member is getting all the helpful services they can.  Ask what services your plan offers that relate to disabilities.

These might be things like:

  • Tests or assessments 

  • Special treatments or therapies

  • Special equipment or devices that help your family member communicate, move around, or do the normal things any other person can do

  • Diapers for anyone over 3

  • A Personal Care Attendant (PCA) to help with self care activities

Click on the box below to learn more:

A PCA is a caregiver that will come help your family member for a certain number of hours each week.

These services are for people who cannot take care of their own daily needs, like eating, bathing, dressing and moving around their house.

How does it work?

  • A PCA agency will work with your family to find out how many hours a week are needed to help your family member.

  • You will hire a PCA of your choice to help you at home. 

  • You will bill MassHealth to pay the PCA 

Click the box below to read more about the types of tasks a PCA can help with.

Before MassHealth can approve a caregiver for your family member, they need proof that the extra help is medically necessary.

MassHealth may find that a caregiver is needed if your family member needs help with these tasks:

  • bathing (full-body bath or shower)

  • getting dressed, including clothes and undergarments (not just help with shoes, socks, buttons, snaps, or zippers)

  • toileting, if your family member is "incontinent" (can't control their bladder or bowel) or needs help on a regular basis with going to the bathroom, a catheter or colostomy care

  • moving from place to place, or "transferring" (if your family member needs help moving to another position)

  • unable to self-steer a wheelchair without help from someone else

  • eating, if your family member needs constant supervision and cueing during the entire meal, or physical help with a part or all of the meal

Source: MassHealth

What you can do:

Click the link below to find a list of PCA agencies:
Click the link at the bottom of the page to to download a PDF listing of other agencies that can help you in this process.

 

Sources: MA Council for Adult Foster Care, MassHealth, Rewarding Work Resources Inc.