Indiana Medicaid Home Care is the set of Medicaid programs that pay for care in a parent’s own home — or in assisted living — for someone who would otherwise qualify for a nursing home. This Indiana medicaid home care guide names the program, gives the 2026 financial limits, explains the level-of-care test and the waitlist reality, and shows where the application starts.
The financial figures come from the state Medicaid agency and CMS and reset on their own calendars; where Indiana has not published a figure we say so.
In This Indiana Medicaid Home Care Guide:
Indiana Medicaid Home Care at a Glance (2026)
| Program | Indiana’s home-care program for seniors is the Indiana PathWays for Aging Waiver, usually called the PathWays Waiver, run by the Family and Social Services Administration’s Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning together with the Division of Aging. |
| 2026 income limit (single applicant) | $2,982 |
| 2026 asset limit (single applicant) | $2,000 |
| Assisted living covered? | Confirm with Start with two calls. First, apply for Indiana Medicaid itself through the Division of Family Resources using the Aged, Blind, or Disabled application. whether assisted living is covered. |
| Waitlist | The PathWays Waiver is not an entitlement. |
| PACE available? | YES, PACE operates in Indiana. |
| Hire your own caregiver? | YES. Indiana lets a PathWays member direct their own care rather than accept only agency-scheduled staff. |
The Indiana Program Behind Indiana Medicaid Home Care
Nursing home Medicaid is an entitlement: anyone who qualifies gets it. Home-based care is different. Indiana delivers it through a waiver or a managed long-term care program with its own name, its own enrollment rules and, in many states, a cap on how many people it serves.
The program Indiana runs for people 65 and over is Indiana’s home-care program for seniors is the Indiana PathWays for Aging Waiver, usually called the PathWays Waiver, run by the Family and Social Services Administration’s Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning together with the Division of Aging..
The PathWays Waiver pays for the hands-on and household help that keeps someone out of a nursing facility.
Covered services include attendant care and personal care, homemaker and housekeeping help, adult day services, respite for family caregivers, home-delivered meals and nutritional supplements, home modifications and vehicle modifications, specialized medical equipment, personal emergency response systems, transportation, health care coordination, and care in adult family care, structured family caregiving or an assisted living setting.
A case manager decides which of these a member actually gets and lists them on the member’s plan of care.
Who Qualifies for Indiana Medicaid Home Care
Three tests, the same as a nursing home: a medical test, an income test and an asset test. Indiana uses the nursing-facility level of care as the medical bar, which means the applicant needs hands-on help with daily activities or supervision because of dementia — not merely help with errands.
An applicant must meet Indiana’s nursing facility level of care (NF LOC) — meaning the person’s physical, functional and cognitive needs are serious enough that they could be admitted to a nursing home. Since July 1, 2025 the assessment is performed by Indiana’s Level of Care Assessment Representative (LCAR) contractor, Maximus, which uses the age-appropriate interRAI assessment tool and issues the level of care recommendation.
Area Agencies on Aging and the PathWays health plans can also start the process; Maximus can be reached directly at 1-833-597-2777.
Financially, the applicant’s own income is measured against the Indiana medicaid home care limit of $2,982, and countable assets against $2,000. The spouse who stays home is protected by the same spousal impoverishment rules that apply in a nursing home: up to $162,660 in assets in 2026 and a guaranteed income floor.
Waitlists and Enrollment Caps
The PathWays Waiver is not an entitlement. It is a capped waiver with a limited number of participant slots, and Indiana currently maintains a waiting list; when the program launched, most slots were filled by people already receiving Aged and Disabled Waiver services, leaving a smaller number for newly eligible seniors.
FSSA invites people off the list by letter each month to finish the application, and gives priority to people moving out of a nursing home or hospital. FSSA publishes an online HCBS Waitlist Dashboard so families can confirm placement, but a predicted wait time is UNVERIFIED.
Two facts hold everywhere: applying for the waiver does not stop you from applying for nursing home Medicaid later, and the level-of-care assessment for one is usually accepted for the other.
What Indiana Medicaid Home Care Pays For
Personal care (bathing, dressing, transfers), homemaker help, adult day programs, respite so the family caregiver can rest, home modifications such as ramps and grab bars, delivered meals, a personal emergency response button, and in many states assisted living services. It does not pay rent, a mortgage or groceries.
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Assisted living: Confirm with Start with two calls. First, apply for Indiana Medicaid itself through the Division of Family Resources using the Aged, Blind, or Disabled application. whether assisted living is covered.
PACE: YES, PACE operates in Indiana. The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly is recognized by Indiana Health Coverage Programs for members age 55 and older who live inside an approved PACE service area and meet nursing facility level of care. PACE wraps medical care, therapies, prescriptions, adult day services, in-home help and transportation into one program.
Can a Family Member Be the Paid Caregiver?
YES. Indiana lets a PathWays member direct their own care rather than accept only agency-scheduled staff. The waiver includes participant-directed home care services and self-directed attendant care, under which the member recruits, hires, trains, schedules and can dismiss their own attendant, with a financial management service handling payroll and taxes.
Indiana also offers Structured Family Caregiving, in which a family member who lives with the person provides daily care and receives a stipend through a certified agency, with coaching and oversight. Some relationships, such as a legally responsible spouse, face restrictions.
The full picture — who may be paid, how the pay is set and how to enroll — is in our companion guide to Indiana family caregiver pay.
How to Apply for Indiana Medicaid Home Care
Where: Start with two calls. First, apply for Indiana Medicaid itself through the Division of Family Resources using the Aged, Blind, or Disabled application. — start here.
Ask for two things on the first call: the functional assessment and a Medicaid financial application. Doing both at once shortens the timeline by weeks. Bring the same five years of financial records a nursing home application needs; the look-back rule applies to waivers too.
What Happens on Assessment Day
The assessment is a visit, usually at the parent’s home, by a nurse or social worker who walks through the day: getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, eating, moving from room to room, taking medication, and whether the person can be left alone safely. Answer for the worst day, not the best one. Families who describe a good morning talk their parent out of Indiana medicaid home care without meaning to.
Bring the medication list, the diagnoses, recent hospital paperwork and any dementia evaluation. If a doctor has written that the person needs supervision or hands-on help, bring that letter; it is often the single document that tips the level-of-care decision.
The Care Plan That Follows
Approval produces a written care plan: which services, how many hours, and who delivers them. The plan is the budget. Hours outside it are not paid, and hours inside it that go unused are not banked. A plan can be revised when the parent’s condition changes — after a fall, a hospital stay or a new diagnosis — so keep the case manager’s number and call when something changes rather than waiting for the annual review.
Mistakes That Cost Families Months
- Waiting for the crisis. Waiver slots and assessments take weeks; the application should start when the family first notices the parent needs daily help.
- Giving money away first. The five-year look-back applies to the waiver as well as the nursing home, so a gift meant to “get under the limit” creates a penalty period instead.
- Spending the spouse’s protected share. Ask for the resource assessment before paying anything down.
- Assuming Medicare covers it. Medicare pays for short-term skilled care after a hospital stay, never for ongoing daily help. Indiana Medicaid Home Care is the program that does.
Where to Get Help Free
Two free doors exist in every state: the Indiana SHIP counselor for the Medicare side and the state’s Aging and Disability Resource Center for the Medicaid side. Neither sells anything. For an Indiana medicaid home care 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: Indiana Medicaid Home Care
- Same tests as a nursing home: Indiana medicaid home care requires nursing-facility level of care plus the income and asset tests.
- Not an entitlement: Indiana medicaid home care runs through a waiver that can have a waitlist, so apply before the crisis.
- The assessment travels: the level-of-care finding for Indiana medicaid home care is usually accepted for nursing home coverage later.
- Room and board are never covered: Indiana medicaid home care pays for care services, not rent, even in assisted living.
- Family can be the caregiver: most Indiana medicaid home care programs let the participant hire and direct a relative.
Official Sources
- Indiana’s home-care program for seniors is the Indiana PathWays for Aging Waiver, usually called the PathWays Waiver, run by the Family and Social Services Administration’s Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning together with the Division of Aging.: https://www.in.gov/pathways/ is the single best state page, because it is FSSA’s dedicated site for the Indiana PathWays for Aging program and links to member, caregiver, provider and health plan pages. For the Medicaid program description of home and community based services, see https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/home-and-community-based-services/. Information on the level of care assessment process is published at https://www.in.gov/fssa/ddars/in-level-of-care-assessment-representative/, and Indiana’s PACE program page is https://www.in.gov/medicaid/providers/about-ihcp-programs/program-for-all-inclusive-care-to-the-elderly-pace/.
- Start with two calls. First, apply for Indiana Medicaid itself through the Division of Family Resources using the Aged, Blind, or Disabled application.: https://www.in.gov/pathways/members-and-caregivers — this is the state’s own PathWays page for members and families, with enrollment contacts and health plan information. To file the underlying Medicaid application online, use the FSSA Benefits Portal at https://fssabenefits.in.gov, and to find the correct Area Agency on Aging for a specific county, use https://www.in.gov/fssa/da/area-agencies-on-aging/. Families waiting for a slot can check the state’s HCBS waiting list information at https://www.in.gov/fssa/ddars/resources/individuals/hcbs-waiver-waiting-list-information/ to confirm the person was added and that contact details are correct.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Indiana medicaid home care 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.