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Can Family Members Get Paid for Caregiving in Mississippi?
Date Updated: July 26, 2024
Written by:
Rachel Lustbader is a writer and editor with a background in healthcare and technology. Her work has been published on websites including HealthCare.com, BiteSizeBio.com, BetterHelp.com, Caring.com, and PayingforSeniorCare.com. She studied health science and public health at Boston University.
Both of Rachel’s grandmothers had very positive experiences in senior living communities, and Rachel saw firsthand the impact that kind, committed caregivers and community managers can have on seniors’ and their family members’ lives. With her work at Caring, Rachel hopes to help other families find communities, caregivers, and at-home products that benefit elderly loved ones and make life less stressful for family caregivers
Family members can get paid for caregiver services to seniors in Mississippi. Seniors must be enrolled in Mississippi’s Elderly and Disabled Waiver program (EDWP), which pays for beneficiary-directed care from the caregiver of the senior’s choice.
What Services Does the Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program Pay For?
Mississippi’s EDWP pays for multiple support services for seniors aging in place at their own home or in the private home of family or friends. In addition to a bi-weekly paycheck for in-home caregivers, EDWP also pays for home meal delivery, case management services, transition services for seniors coming out of residential or long-term care and non-emergency transportation. Beneficiaries can also get adult day health care, institutional and in-home respite care, expanded health visits and some physical and speech therapy through EDWP. The program can also pay for a limited range of home improvements and mobility-based upgrades.
How Does the EDWP Work?
Seniors who meet the eligibility requirements for participation in EDWP can apply through their Medicaid worker. Seniors must be enrolled in Mississippi’s Medicaid program before they can be accepted for EDWP. As part of the enrollment process, seniors receive a home visit from an EDWP case worker who assesses the enrollee’s needs and assigns a set number of caregiver hours the program will pay for.
Beneficiaries can then designate the person of their choice as caregiver, sign off on their state-issued timesheet for hours actually worked and have those hours deducted from their monthly allotment. Pay for hours worked is then issued to the caregiver like a regular paycheck.
Eligibility Standards forEDWP in Mississippi
EDWP is only available to Mississippi seniors who are enrolled in the state Medicaid program. To get Medicaid, a senior in Mississippi must be a citizen or permanent U.S. resident, live permanently in the state and have income at or below the SSI maximum. To enroll in EDWP, the Medicaid beneficiary must have a disability or age-related condition that requires at least some caregiver assistance to remain safely at home, as verified by a doctor. The beneficiary must be able to stay safely at home and have all their needs met without long-term facility care, as verified by an EDWP worker during the assessment stage of the enrollment process.