How to Find a Home Care Agency That Accepts Medicaid in Pennsylvania

Not every home care agency in Pennsylvania accepts Medicaid. Some only serve private-pay clients. Others accept Medicaid but don’t participate in all CHC programs or support Participant-Directed Services. If your family needs Medicaid-funded home care — and especially if you want a family member to be the paid caregiver — you need an agency that operates inside the CHC system, not alongside it.

How to Find the Right Agency

Start with your MCO.  Once your loved one is enrolled in Community HealthChoices and assigned to an MCO (AmeriHealth Caritas, Keystone First CHC, or PA Health & Wellness in the Southeast Zone; AmeriHealth Caritas, PA Health & Wellness, or UPMC CHC in the Southwest Zone), the MCO maintains a provider directory of credentialed home care agencies. Start there.

Ask about PDS specifically.  Being in the MCO’s provider directory doesn’t automatically mean the agency supports Participant-Directed Services. Ask directly: “Do you facilitate PDS and Agency with Choice enrollment for family caregivers?” If the answer is vague, keep looking.

Contact PCA or your local AAA.  PCA in Philadelphia at (215) 765-9040 and the Allegheny County AAA at (412) 350-5460 can recommend agencies experienced with Medicaid home care in their respective regions. For the suburban counties, each county’s AAA can provide localreferrals.

Check CareChoice.  CareChoice accepts Medicaid across Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, and Central PA. We work within CHC in both the Southeast and Southwest Zones, and we specialize in the PDS/AWC pathway for paid family caregiving.

Common Mistakes

Assuming all agencies accept Medicaid.  They don’t. Many advertise “home care” broadly but only serve private-pay clients. Ask about Medicaid before investing time in a consultation.

Confusing home health agencies with home care agencies.  Home health agencies provide medical services (nursing, therapy) through Medicare. Home care agencies provide personal care through Medicaid. They’re different businesses. If you call a home health agency asking about Medicaid personal care, they’ll tell you they can’t help — not because you don’t qualify, but because you’ve called the wrong type of provider.

Not asking about PDS.  An agency that accepts Medicaid but only provides agency-staffed care won’t help you get a family member paid. The PDS question is essential.

Contact CareChoice →Pennsylvania team

Written by Shamere Dunswell, Community Relations Manager | CareChoice