Providing home care for an elderly or disabled family member often begins out of love but can quickly become a financial burden for the caregiver. As a result, these individuals may find themselves taking time off from work and missing out on potential income as they take on this role of a family caregiver.
Many people don’t know that you can take care of loved ones AND get paid and receive benefits. Here’s what you need to know about becoming a paid Personal Care Assistant (PCA) for a family member in Minnesota and how Best Care can support you.
When it comes to how to become a PCA for a family member in Minnesota, there are a few requirements you need to be aware of:
*Normally, a spouse cannot receive compensation for providing PCA services. The rules are different during the COVID-19 pandemic, however. Effective immediately and lasting through the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, PCA services are available through parents, stepparents, legal guardians of minors, and spouses of people who receive PCA services. All people who provide PCA services must follow enrollment and other PCA worker criteria.
If you’re already providing care for someone and meet the above requirements, the first step is to have your loved one contact Best Care. We can determine the recipient’s eligibility and provide a phone number to request a PCA Assessment.
The PCA Assessment is where the recipient will need to contact your county or health plan for a nurse or an assessor to come out to do an assessment and authorize services. The assessor will determine how many hours of homecare service the recipient is eligible to receive if approved.
From there, individuals in need of home care services will be free to choose their caregivers. Best Care can then hire and train, pending the above PCA requirements, this individual to begin receiving compensation for their family caregiving services.
While money isn’t everything, getting paid to care for a family member can ease many burdens that family caregivers face. Compensation allows caregivers to quit one or all of their jobs and focus more on providing quality home care services for their friends or family member.
The Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging states that each year in Minnesota, 600,000 caregivers leave over $7 billion on the table as they provide care for their aging parents or disabled family members. Experts believe these numbers will multiply in the coming years as Baby Boomers reach retirement age and the need for care rises. In addition, it is a little-known fact that you can get paid to care for a family member in Minnesota.
Through the Personal Care Assistance Program administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, friends and family members may also receive compensation for their work with their loved ones.
Activities may include:
At Best Care, we’ve made it our mission to improve the lives of caregivers as much as possible so that they can concentrate their energy on providing the best level of care. That’s why we pride ourselves on offering a wealth of benefits, so you can take care of yourself and others the way you choose.
So take the hassle out of admin with our Timesheet App, and have open access to a friendly team ready to support you in any way we can.
We also offer flexible hours, PTO, and holiday pay. Even family caregivers deserve time off, and we make it easy to rest up so you can continue the life-changing work you do every day.
If you’re thinking about becoming a PCA, let Best Care support you in becoming the best family caregiver possible. Contact us today to find out more!
