Medicaid in Louisiana pays a personal care worker to help adults at home with bathing, dressing and other daily tasks, and that worker can be a family member caring for a parent or relative. The program is Long Term-Personal Care Services (LT-PCS). For a Louisiana LT-PCS family caregiver, the rule bars the spouse, a legal guardian and a power of attorney, but not an adult child. To ask about it, call Louisiana Options in Long Term Care at 1-877-456-1146.

In This Guide

Who Can Be Paid as a Louisiana LT-PCS Family Caregiver?

Long Term-Personal Care Services is a Louisiana Medicaid program run by the Office of Aging and Adult Services (OAAS). It provides help with eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, walking and other activities of daily living, and it may also help with light housekeeping, meals, grocery shopping and laundry.

Louisiana's LT-PCS rule, LAC 50:XV.12911, names six people who can't be paid for providing a recipient's care: the spouse, the curator, the tutor, the legal guardian, the designated responsible representative, and the person holding the recipient's power of attorney.

Your situation Can you be paid?
Adult child Only if you hold none of the six barred roles
Spouse No
Legal guardian, curator or tutor No
Power of attorney No
Designated responsible representative No
Relative whose home your parent lives in Only if related by blood or marriage
Relative who moves into your parent's home Ask the program

Holding Mom's power of attorney bars you from being her paid Louisiana LT-PCS worker, even though being her daughter doesn't.

Louisiana's LT-PCS rule also bars a participant from living in the worker's home unless they're related by blood or marriage, and OAAS can waive this only with prior written approval. The rule doesn't address a relative who moves into the participant's own home, so ask first.

Louisiana's state plan says the worker must not be a family member, but the federal Medicaid personal care rule, 42 CFR 440.167, defines family member there as a legally responsible relative.

Louisiana's state plan for personal care also requires the provider to ensure all agency staff working directly with the person are trained on the plan of care.

Spouses have other routes in Louisiana, covered in getting paid to care for your spouse in Louisiana. For every route, see how to get paid as a family caregiver in Louisiana.

Who Qualifies for LT-PCS in Louisiana

To get Louisiana LT-PCS, the person you care for must:

  • Receive Medicaid
  • Be 21 or older
  • Qualify for nursing home care
  • Need at least limited help with one activity of daily living
  • Be able to direct their own care, or have a responsible representative who can

A Louisiana LT-PCS applicant must also be in one of three situations: they're in a nursing facility and could be discharged if community services were available, they're likely to need nursing facility admission within the next 120 days, or their primary caregiver has a disability or is at least 70 years old.

LT-PCS doesn't provide care 24 hours a day, alone or combined with other OAAS programs. The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) lists what LT-PCS doesn't cover, including nursing care, giving medications, therapy, companionship, sitter services, and "help that is already being given by family or others in the community or through another assistance program." Tell the assessor what you do now and that you want to be the paid worker.

If your parent doesn't have Medicaid yet, start with how to apply for Louisiana Medicaid.

How Many Hours, and What Louisiana LT-PCS Pays a Family Caregiver

Louisiana LT-PCS covers up to 32 hours of personal care a week, authorized case by case from the person's plan of care, so 32 is a ceiling, not a promise.

Home care aides in Louisiana earned about $10.83 an hour in May 2025, according to the BLS. That is a wage estimate for the occupation, not a rate any program pays a family caregiver. Plan on part-time pay that depends on the assessment, not a full-time paycheck. Ask what the job pays before your family counts on it.

If Your Parent Is Waiting for the Community Choices Waiver

If your parent is on the Community Choices Waiver (CCW) registry, two of the six CCW priority groups depend on LT-PCS: people already approved for 32 hours of LT-PCS who will need a nursing home unless offered an expedited waiver spot, and people not getting services from the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), LT-PCS or another Medicaid-paid home and community-based program.

So starting LT-PCS can move your parent out of one group and, in some cases, into the other. Ask how it affects their place before you sign up. Our guide to Louisiana Medicaid waivers explains the waiver and its registry.

How to Start

1
Step 1

Call Louisiana Options in Long Term Care

at 1-877-456-1146 and ask about LT-PCS. If your parent is on the CCW registry, ask about their priority group on the same call.

2
Step 2

Ask how a family worker is hired

Tell Louisiana Options you're the family member your parent wants as their worker, ask how that hiring works under LT-PCS, and confirm you hold none of the six barred roles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I hire myself as my parent's LT-PCS caregiver?

LDH's self-direction page lists that option, where a participant hires and supervises their own workers, for the Community Choices Waiver, not LT-PCS. Ask Louisiana Options how LT-PCS hires a family worker.

Does a family member have to meet the same job requirements as other workers?

Yes. LDH's manual says family members who provide LT-PCS must meet the same standards for employment as caregivers who are unrelated to the person. Louisiana's state plan also requires a personal care worker to be at least 18 when the job is offered.

Learn More

CaregiverHow to Get Paid as a Family Caregiver in LouisianaWho Louisiana pays as a family caregiver: relatives via CCW self-direction (spouses need approval), live-in MIHC caregivers, and the VA stipend. CaregiverHow to Get Paid to Care for Your Spouse in LouisianaCan you get paid to care for your spouse in Louisiana? CCW self-direction can pay a spouse with OAAS approval, and VA's PCAFC can pay a veteran's spouse. CaregiverCaregiver Programs in LouisianaLouisiana's CCW lets a spouse be the live-in MIHC caregiver with provider approval, or a self-directed worker with OAAS approval. Plus LT-PCS, respite, VA help. MedicaidHow Louisiana Pays for Home Care Through Medicaid WaiversLouisiana Medicaid HCBS waivers pay for home care through the Community Choices Waiver for adults needing nursing-facility care. Who qualifies and how to apply. MedicaidHow to Apply for Louisiana MedicaidApply for Louisiana Medicaid online, by phone at 1-888-342-6207, by mail or in person, plus the level-of-care screening and $2,982 limit long-term care adds.

Find personalized help getting paid as a family caregiver through Louisiana LT-PCS at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

Still have questions?

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Expert eldercare guidance from Brevy's team of healthcare professionals and researchers.