Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia has not published a figure we say so.
In This Virginia Medicaid Home Care Guide:
Virginia Medicaid Home Care at a Glance (2026)
| Program | Virginia’s Medicaid home-care program for people who need nursing-facility-level care is the Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus Waiver, almost always written as the CCC Plus Waiver. |
| 2026 income limit (single applicant) | $2,982 |
| 2026 asset limit (single applicant) | $2,000 |
| Assisted living covered? | Confirm with Applications for Medicaid, including long-term services and supports, are taken by the local Department of Social Services in the applicant’s city or county, and by the Cover Virginia Call Center at 1-833-5CALLVA (1-833-522-5582; TDD 1-888-221-1590). whether assisted living is covered. |
| Waitlist | The CCC Plus Waiver is not slot-limited the way Virginia’s developmental disability waivers are. |
| PACE available? | Yes. |
| Hire your own caregiver? | Yes. Virginia calls it Consumer-Directed Services, often shortened to CD or “consumer direction,” and it is available under the CCC Plus Waiver for personal care and respite. |
The Virginia Program Behind Virginia Medicaid Home Care
Nursing home Medicaid is an entitlement: anyone who qualifies gets it. Home-based care is different. Virginia 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 Virginia runs for people 65 and over is Virginia’s Medicaid home-care program for people who need nursing-facility-level care is the Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus Waiver, almost always written as the CCC Plus Waiver..
The CCC Plus Waiver pays for personal care — hands-on help with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, transferring, eating, and medication reminders — along with homemaker-type help such as light housekeeping, laundry, and meal preparation when it is part of the personal care plan.
It also covers adult day health care, respite care to give a family caregiver a break, private duty (skilled) nursing, assistive technology, environmental modifications such as ramps and grab bars, personal emergency response systems (PERS) including a medication monitoring option, and transition services for someone moving out of a nursing facility. Home-delivered meals are not a listed waiver service; those come from Area Agencies on Aging instead.
Who Qualifies for Virginia Medicaid Home Care
Three tests, the same as a nursing home: a medical test, an income test and an asset test. Virginia 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.
Virginia requires a functional and medical determination that the person meets nursing facility level of care. This is established through the Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Screening, done using the Virginia Uniform Assessment Instrument (UAI), which looks at help needed with activities of daily living, medical and nursing needs, cognition, and behavior.
Screenings are performed by Community-Based Teams made up of staff from the local department of social services and the local health department for people living at home, by hospital screening teams for inpatients, or by a DMAS designee. The screening team and a physician sign the DMAS-96 authorization form.
Financially, the applicant’s own income is measured against the Virginia 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 CCC Plus Waiver is not slot-limited the way Virginia’s developmental disability waivers are. DMAS and its CoverVA materials describe the CCC Plus Waiver as serving all ages with no waiting list, meaning anyone who is financially eligible and screened as meeting nursing facility level of care can be enrolled.
By contrast, the DD waivers do maintain a statewide waiting list with slots released by urgency of need, which is a common source of confusion for families. Because policy can change, confirm current status with DMAS or the local screening team before relying on it.
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 Virginia 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.
Assisted living: Confirm with Applications for Medicaid, including long-term services and supports, are taken by the local Department of Social Services in the applicant’s city or county, and by the Cover Virginia Call Center at 1-833-5CALLVA (1-833-522-5582; TDD 1-888-221-1590). whether assisted living is covered.
❤️ Get Free Medicare Guides
Free · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime
PACE: Yes. PACE, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, operates in Virginia and is described by DMAS as an option for adults 55 and older who meet nursing facility level of care, live in a PACE service area, and can be safely served in the community.
Can a Family Member Be the Paid Caregiver?
Yes. Virginia calls it Consumer-Directed Services, often shortened to CD or “consumer direction,” and it is available under the CCC Plus Waiver for personal care and respite. Under this model the member (or an employer of record acting for them, such as a family member) recruits, hires, trains, schedules, supervises, and can dismiss their own attendant, while a state-contracted fiscal/employer agent handles payroll and taxes.
A services facilitator helps set up and periodically review the arrangement. Members may choose consumer direction, agency-directed care through a home care agency, or a combination of both.
The full picture — who may be paid, how the pay is set and how to enroll — is in our companion guide to Virginia family caregiver pay.
How to Apply for Virginia Medicaid Home Care
Where: Applications for Medicaid, including long-term services and supports, are taken by the local Department of Social Services in the applicant’s city or county, and by the Cover Virginia Call Center at 1-833-5CALLVA (1-833-522-5582; TDD 1-888-221-1590). — 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 Virginia 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. Virginia Medicaid Home Care is the program that does.
Where to Get Help Free
Two free doors exist in every state: the Virginia SHIP counselor for the Medicare side and the state’s Aging and Disability Resource Center for the Medicaid side. Neither sells anything. For a Virginia 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: Virginia Medicaid Home Care
- Same tests as a nursing home: Virginia medicaid home care requires nursing-facility level of care plus the income and asset tests.
- Not an entitlement: Virginia 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 Virginia medicaid home care is usually accepted for nursing home coverage later.
- Room and board are never covered: Virginia medicaid home care pays for care services, not rent, even in assisted living.
Official Sources
- Virginia’s Medicaid home-care program for people who need nursing-facility-level care is the Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus Waiver, almost always written as the CCC Plus Waiver.: https://www.dmas.virginia.gov/for-members/benefits-and-services/waivers/ccc-plus-waiver/
- Applications for Medicaid, including long-term services and supports, are taken by the local Department of Social Services in the applicant’s city or county, and by the Cover Virginia Call Center at 1-833-5CALLVA (1-833-522-5582; TDD 1-888-221-1590).: https://commonhelp.virginia.gov
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This Virginia 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.