How to Become a Paid Caregiver for a Family Member in Arizona
By Gloria Rogers, HR Manager for All Valley Premier Private Care & Home Health Care
More than 53 million Americans spend unpaid hours caring for a family member—and 40 million of those Americans act as unpaid caregivers for people older than 65.
Whether this is for a temporary period like after surgery or it’s a more long-term affair involving physical or mental incapacity, the reality is the same: that’s a lot of hours spent caring for someone else.
Caregiving is a vital part of our society, and no matter who you are, this time spent may mean time out of your day when you would have otherwise been able to work. If you’re currently caring for a loved one and you’re not getting paid for the time you’re spending, this article is for you. Read on to find out if you can get paid for the care you provide—even if you think you don’t qualify.
This article covers:
The types of caregiving that may qualify for payment
The benefits of being the person being paid to care for your loved one
How to become a paid caregiver
Options if your loved one doesn’t qualify
Types of Caregiving
When you’re a caregiver to a family member in Arizona, your responsibilities may range from simple tasks to very in-depth. Basic tasks include a variety of different chores:
Buying groceries
Cooking meals
Cleaning the house
Doing the laundry
Making medical appointments
Picking up their prescriptions
And when long-term illnesses are involved, caregiving responsibilities can be more taxing. If your family member suffers from Alzheimer’s disease or other brain-impairing disorders, being an unpaid or paid caregiver can be unpredictable and sometimes exhausting depending on their behavior. This more advanced care may also require more in-depth knowledge of how dementia affects a person and tactics to help maintain cognitive skills and your family member’s sense of self.
Regardless of the type of caregiving you’re providing, if you’re spending hours of your day doing it you might be wondering how to become a paid caregiver for a family member in Arizona.
Benefits of Being the Paid Caregiver for Your Loved One
It may be helpful to consider what it takes to apply and qualify as a paid caregiver for your family member. There are programs in Phoenix and around Arizona that provide the training necessary and, more importantly, pay you so you aren’t balancing the care and comfort of your family member with your own financial security.
Other benefits include having control over the comfort of your loved one, rather than leaving it to a third party. On top of that, the training included when qualifying for these programs overlaps into every other part of your life. For example, there’s really no downside to having basic CPR and first aid training or more caregiver specific training as this knowledge can help you better care for your loved one and better balance these responsibilities.
As a side note, at All Valley Home Health Care we offer anyone who’s currently serving as a caregiver our Direct Care Worker training (normally a $200 training) as well as CPR and first aid training (normally a $40 training) at no cost. With All Valley, you could be a fully trained and paid caregiver in less than a week!
For your family member, the benefits of having you as their paid caregiver include the confidence that their care is in the hands of someone they know and love. It also allows them to have their own, customized care routine that fits their needs while living in the privacy of their own home.
How to Become a Paid Caregiver in Arizona
The program that pays you for the care you provide your loved one is Arizona’s Medicaid program—which is called the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), and if your family member qualifies you’d be working under the branch of AHCCCS called the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS). If you become a qualified caregiver, a portion of the money that the state offers to help you cover your loved one’s needs instead goes to you, since you’re the one taking care of those needs!
In order to be paid through these programs, your family member who requires care must be eligible for these Medicaid benefits. This includes a medical screening process, and they must also meet particular income and asset limits.
In the medical screening, you will provide your family member’s personal information and the state will send a social worker to evaluate their health and behavior through daily activities in order to determine whether they need daily hands-on assistance.
With regards to financial eligibility, ALTCS has specific requirements for income limits:
A single applicant (this is your family member who requires care) may make up to $2,382 in gross monthly income
A married applicant (the family member requiring care) may make up to $2,382 and the non-applicant spouse’s income is not considered for purposes of meeting the limit.
Married couples who both require care and are both applying must have a combined income no greater than $4,764
Furthermore, ALTCS has specific requirements for asset limits. Applicants in Arizona who have more than one home, vehicle, or valuable assets like savings bonds or revocable trusts do not qualify.
These limits may seem strict, but with the right preparation and estate planning, you and your family member have options:
Spend-down strategies that tackle medical bills with excess income
Investing excess income in accessibility remodels on your home like wheelchair ramps
Using irrevocable trusts to transfer and protect assets
Bear in mind that Arizona has a 5-year lookback period to ensure that wealthy applicants aren’t just giving away their money and assets to qualify. The penalty for this includes ineligibility for Medicaid benefits for a certain amount of time determined by the amount given away.
We can help guide you to estate planners who will point you in the right direction with regard to your long-term planning for your family member. You’re welcome to contact us for recommendations.
Once your family member qualifies for these benefits, you must apply to become an employee of an AHCCCS/ALTCS contracted home health care agency. That’s where we come in! We’ll get you trained up and you’ll be paid in part by your loved one’s benefits.
As an All Valley CAREgiver for your family member, we won’t require you to work more hours than you need (and there’s no requirement to take on other clients either). That way you get paid for the work you do and your family member has the peace of mind that they’re getting the best care available from someone they love.
And you are not the only one who can be a paid caregiver for your loved one! As defined by AHCCCS, your family member can also choose someone else—an extended family member, friend, neighbor—as their caregiver, and any of these individuals can be paid for their time.
Options if You Don’t Qualify in Arizona
No matter your caregiving situation, there are a variety of options available to you as you’re caring for a family member or loved one. In the event that your family member fails to qualify for Medicaid benefits, All Valley Home Health Care has resources you can lean on.
For anyone looking for long-term care solutions in Arizona, we offer important training whether you’re a paid caregiver, an employee of ours, or neither. We want every family member in need of care to have the best comfort and support available. This includes respite care, for when you need a break, and free training for family members of clients.
At All Valley Home Health Care, we understand the challenges both unpaid and paid caregivers face on a daily basis in Arizona. Working together to Raise The Level of Care for the people we love is one of the best ways to ensure safety, comfort, and the highest quality of care.
If you have any questions about how to become a paid caregiver for a family member in Arizona, feel free to download our guide. If you’re interested in becoming a CAREgiver today, please apply here or you can request a free care assessment here. We’ll help guide you through any confusion you might have about long-term care for your loved ones.
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If your family member is below the income and asset qualifications provided above, you can call your local AHCCCS/ALTCS office at (602) 417-6600 or find it online at https://www.azahcccs.gov/members/ALTCSlocations.html to begin the screening and eligibility process. If you have any questions or concerns about whether your loved one will qualify, we recommend contacting us before you begin the process with AHCCCS to prevent any hiccups in your application process.