Can Family Members Get Paid for Caregiving in Nevada?

Family members can get paid for caregiving in Nevada under the Personal Care Services program, which focuses on in-home care. There are, however, strict qualifications that the recipient must meet to access the program and limits on the services that family caregivers can provide. Spouses aren’t eligible to be paid personal care assistants in Nevada.

Seniors who want to hire a family member as a caregiver through the Personal Care Services program must meet strict qualifications. First, they must be enrolled in the Medicaid program, and this requires certain restrictions on income and assets. They must then choose the self-directed option of the Personal Care Services program to select a family member as a personal care assistant.

The potential recipient must also show the need for a personal care assistant. An in-home assessment is required for proof of this. In Nevada, the Personal Care Services program is designed to keep seniors in their own homes rather than in residential care or a nursing home, so to qualify for the program, seniors must live at home and not in a facility. They must also meet the standard eligibility requirements for nursing home admission. This might mean that they have mobility issues, cognitive difficulties, hearing or vision problems or a significant inability to perform daily tasks.

The Personal Care Services program allows Nevada seniors to remain at home and receive the help they need with their activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. The first category includes help with hygiene, mobility and eating. Family caregivers can help seniors bathe and dress, for instance, and they can prepare meals and feed their loved ones. Caregivers may assist with incontinence management, transfers from bed to chair and back, and proper positioning and walking. Instrumental activities of daily living include housekeeping, laundry and shopping, and caregivers can provide these, too.

Family caregivers, however, aren’t allowed to perform certain services for pay. They can’t provide massages, IV injections or wound care, nor can they provide transportation, vital sign monitoring or more specialized medical care. There is an exception to this rule, however, if a family caregiver is a licensed nurse or Certified Nursing Assistant. In that case, the caregiver may be paid to perform further medical services according to their qualifications.