·State program
Massachusetts Personal Care Attendant (PCA) Program
Massachusetts operates one of the oldest consumer-directed personal care programs in the country. The PCA Program is a Medicaid state plan benefit (entitlement with no waitlist) that allows participants to hire, train, and manage their own personal care attendants. PCAs are unionized through 1199SEIU. The state also offers Structured Family Caregiving through MassHealth.
What it offers
Massachusetts PCA Program provides consumer-directed personal care services with attendant pay rates of approximately $18-$21/hr. It is a state plan entitlement benefit with no waitlist. Family members can be hired as PCAs, but spouses cannot. PCAs are unionized through 1199SEIU. The state also offers Structured Family Caregiving through MassHealth.
Questions that decide eligibility
GiveCare prepares the questions; the program makes the decision. Bring these to the call or the application:
- 01
Does the person receiving care live in Massachusetts?
Residency is usually the first thing a program checks.
- 02
Does your relationship to the person — parent, child, sibling, grandparent, other relative, or non relative — count for this program?
- 03
What counts as a qualifying disability or level of care need, and what documentation shows it?
- 04
Does the VA disability rating meet the program’s minimum (our record lists null%)?
- 05
Do the work hours meet the minimum (our record lists null hours)?
- 06
Is there a caregiver-specific department, coordinator, or support line? Ask for it by name.
Many agencies have one that isn’t advertised on the website.
- 07
What documents do you need from us to start an application?
- 08
Is there a waitlist right now, and how long is it?