Personal Care Attendant Program¶
Personal Care Attendant Program helps people with permanent or chronic disabilities maintain independence and remain in the community through self-directed personal care services.
MassHealth PCA services help people with permanent or chronic disabilities live in the community. Members recruit, hire, train, schedule, and manage their personal care attendants. A Personal Care Management agency assesses service needs and requests authorization.
Some details for this program are still being verified. Check the official source for the most current information.
Eligibility¶
- Care recipient must have a qualifying disability
Questions to ask the program¶
These are questions to ask the program, not a verdict on your eligibility. Confirm the current rules directly with the program.
- Does the person receiving care live in Massachusetts? — Residency is usually the first thing a program checks.
- What counts as a qualifying disability or level of care need, and what documentation shows it?
- 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.
- What documents do you need from us to start an application?
- Is there a waitlist right now, and how long is it?
What this record does not yet say¶
- masshealth coverage and financial pathway
- functional assessment and prior authorization
- provider relationship exclusions
- current rates and service availability
Services¶
MassHealth PCA services help people with permanent or chronic disabilities live in the community. Members recruit, hire, train, schedule, and manage their personal care attendants. A Personal Care Management agency assesses service needs and requests authorization.
How to apply¶
- Contact a Personal Care Management agency to request PCA enrollment and a needs assessment. The agency requests prior authorization from MassHealth.
Use the official program page for application details: official program page.
Who can provide care¶
- The archived PCA regulations exclude the member’s spouse, the parent of a minor member, legally responsible relatives, the member’s surrogate or administrative proxy, and the member’s foster parent. Confirm all provider requirements with the PCM agency. [MassHealth PCA regulations]