New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay is real: New Hampshire Medicaid can pay a daughter, son or other relative to be the caregiver a parent would otherwise get from an agency. This New Hampshire family caregiver pay guide names the program, says who may be paid — including whether a spouse can — explains how the pay is set and delivered, and lays out the enrollment steps in order.
One rule first. The parent must qualify for New Hampshire Medicaid home care: the same medical and financial tests as a nursing home. The caregiver’s own income does not matter. Figures and program names come from the state agency; where New Hampshire has not published one we say so.
In This New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay Guide:
New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay at a Glance (2026)
| Program | The New Hampshire Medicaid option that pays a relative is Participant Directed and Managed Services (PDMS), a covered service under the Choices for Independence (CFI) waiver, New Hampshire’s 1915(c) home and community-based waiver for adults who meet a nursing facility level of care. |
| Can a spouse be paid? | Under participant direction the person receiving care is the employer, so they may choose their own worker, and in practice that includes adult children, siblings, other relatives, friends and neighbors who can pass screening and do the work. |
| Parent must qualify for | New Hampshire Medicaid home care (nursing-home level of care) |
| How pay is set | New Hampshire pays the relative as an hourly employee. |
| Where to start | ServiceLink, New Hampshire’s statewide Aging and Disability Resource Center network operated under the NH Department of Health and Human Services, is where the process starts; the statewide number is 1-866-634-9412. |
The New Hampshire Program Behind New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay
This is a consumer-directed hourly employment model, not a stipend and not an agency placement. The waiver participant is assessed, receives a participant-directed budget in the care plan, then recruits, hires, schedules, supervises and if necessary dismisses their own direct support worker. A Financial Management Services agency stands behind that arrangement as the fiscal agent, enrolling the worker, withholding and filing employment taxes, tracking the budget, and issuing the paycheck.
Families who prefer not to manage employment can instead take CFI personal care through a licensed agency, which sometimes hires the relative.
The full eligibility picture for the parent is in our guide to New Hampshire Medicaid home care.
Who Can Be Paid Under New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay
Under participant direction the person receiving care is the employer, so they may choose their own worker, and in practice that includes adult children, siblings, other relatives, friends and neighbors who can pass screening and do the work.
New Hampshire’s published DHHS material does not clearly state on its public pages whether a spouse or a court-appointed legal guardian may be hired and paid as the direct support worker, so treat both of those specific questions as UNVERIFIED and confirm them directly with DHHS or a ServiceLink options counselor before anyone quits a job.
Every program also requires the caregiver to pass a background check and, in most states, a short training, and to keep timesheets that match the approved care plan.
How the New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay Is Set and Delivered
New Hampshire pays the relative as an hourly employee. The care plan sets an authorized number of service hours based on assessed need, and the participant-directed budget converts those authorized hours into spending authority; within the rules the participant has some say in setting the worker’s hourly wage from that budget. The Financial Management Services agency then pays only for hours actually worked and documented, after tax withholding.
Agency-employed personal care follows the agency’s own wage scale instead. No rate figures are published in a form we can verify here, so treat amounts as UNVERIFIED.
Pay arrives through a payroll agent as W-2 wages in most consumer-directed programs, or as a stipend through the provider agency in structured models. It does not reduce the parent’s Medicaid benefits.
How to Enroll in New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay
Start by calling ServiceLink for options counseling, then file the Medicaid long-term care application through NH EASY or the district DHHS office and submit the financial and identity documents requested. New Hampshire then completes a medical eligibility assessment to confirm nursing facility level of care and, once a waiver slot is available, enrolls the person in CFI. A case manager writes the care plan electing PDMS.
The chosen relative is last: they enroll with the Financial Management Services agency, clear required background screening, complete orientation, and only then may submit paid time.
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Where: ServiceLink, New Hampshire’s statewide Aging and Disability Resource Center network operated under the NH Department of Health and Human Services, is where the process starts; the statewide number is 1-866-634-9412. — start here.
The Veteran Route to New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay
Yes. New Hampshire participates in Veteran Directed Care, a VA-funded self-direction program administered locally with ServiceLink options counselors doing the assessment, care planning and fiscal management referral, reachable in New Hampshire through the NH Care Collaborative coordinator at 603-357-1922.
Separately, the VA’s national Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) pays a monthly stipend directly to an approved primary family caregiver of an eligible veteran and is available to New Hampshire families through the VA Caregiver Support Program, independent of Medicaid.
Taxes on New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay
Medicaid waiver payments to a caregiver who lives with the person cared for can be excluded from federal income under IRS Notice 2014-7; payments to a caregiver who lives elsewhere are ordinary wages. Ask the fiscal agent how it reports, and keep the care plan with your tax records.
The Other Route: a Personal Care Agreement
When a parent does not yet qualify for Medicaid but has some savings, the family can put a written personal care agreement in place: the parent pays the caregiver a fair market rate for defined services, with timesheets. Done properly it is not a gift, so it does not trigger the Medicaid look-back later, and it lets the parent’s own money pay for care in the family before New Hampshire family caregiver pay becomes available.
Done informally, with cash and no contract, Medicaid treats the payments as transfers. An elder law attorney can draft one in an hour.
Protecting Yourself as the Paid Caregiver
Caregiving that pays is still caregiving. Ask the case manager about respite hours, which most programs include; use them. Keep every timesheet and the care plan for three years; audits happen. If you are paid as an employee, the fiscal agent handles withholding and you may be eligible for unemployment if the arrangement ends.
Talk about the money with siblings early: New Hampshire family caregiver pay paid to one child is a common source of family conflict, and the care plan is the neutral document that shows the work was real.
When the Parent’s Needs Change
If the parent enters a nursing home, New Hampshire family caregiver pay ends with the last day at home; the same Medicaid case usually converts to nursing home coverage without a new financial application. If the parent’s needs grow, ask for a reassessment and a revised care plan rather than working unpaid hours. If the parent dies, the final timesheet is paid and the case closes; the caregiver owes nothing back.
Where to Get Help Free
Two free doors exist in every state: the New Hampshire SHIP counselor for the Medicare side and the state’s Aging and Disability Resource Center for the Medicaid side. Neither sells anything. For a New Hampshire family caregiver pay question involving a house, a spouse at home or a recent gift, a local elder law attorney or legal aid office is the next call.
Key Takeaways: New Hampshire Family Caregiver Pay
- The parent qualifies, not the caregiver: New Hampshire family caregiver pay starts with the parent meeting Medicaid’s medical and financial tests.
Official Sources
- The New Hampshire Medicaid option that pays a relative is Participant Directed and Managed Services (PDMS), a covered service under the Choices for Independence (CFI) waiver, New Hampshire’s 1915(c) home and community-based waiver for adults who meet a nursing facility level of care.: https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/adult-aging-care/home-and-community-based-care
- ServiceLink, New Hampshire’s statewide Aging and Disability Resource Center network operated under the NH Department of Health and Human Services, is where the process starts; the statewide number is 1-866-634-9412.: https://nheasy.nh.gov
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This New Hampshire family caregiver pay guide was checked against the state Medicaid agency, CMS and the statute cited above in September 2026. Figures reset on their own calendars (most on January 1); if a number here disagrees with a notice you received, the notice wins — and please tell us. This page is general information, not legal, financial or medical advice.