West Virginia Personal Care Services Family Caregiver Pay (2026)
Families in West Virginia can get a parent help with daily activities at home through Medicaid Personal Care Services, which bars a spouse, but not an adult child, from family caregiver pay.
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Brevy Care Team
5 min read · Published October 16, 2026 · Last verified October 16, 2026
Families in West Virginia can get a parent help with daily activities at home through Medicaid Personal Care Services, which bars a spouse, but not an adult child, from family caregiver pay.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). West Virginia Waiver Factsheet - CMS State Waivers List, Medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Sep 2, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/section-1115-demo/demonstration-and-waiver-list/Waiver-Descript-Factsheet/WV,Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf In West Virginia, Personal Care Services comes through West Virginia Medicaid's certified, state-enrolled providers, and the process starts with a medical request from your parent's doctor.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf,Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). West Virginia Waiver Factsheet - CMS State Waivers List, Medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Sep 2, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/section-1115-demo/demonstration-and-waiver-list/Waiver-Descript-Factsheet/WV
Who Personal Care Services Can Pay as a Family Caregiver in West Virginia
West Virginia's Medicaid State Plan, effective January 1, 2023, excludes "spouse of a member or parents of a minor child, or court appointed legal guardians" from providing personal care for Medicaid reimbursement.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf West Virginia's Bureau for Medical Services Personal Care provider manual adds conservators to the State Plan's exclusion list.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf
Family member
Can be paid?
Adult child
Not on the exclusion list; ask the agency
Relative who lives with your parent
Not on the exclusion list; ask the agency
Spouse
No
Parent of a minor child
No
Court-appointed guardian or conservator
No
Power of attorney, medical power of attorney or health care surrogate
Yes, if employed by a personal care agency
Neither the West Virginia State Plan nor the Personal Care provider manual says in so many words that adult children or live-in relatives can be paid. Ask the personal care agency: "Can my [relationship] be the paid direct care worker?"Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf
If you hold your parent's power of attorney, you're not shut out. West Virginia's Personal Care manual says legal representatives such as a medical power of attorney, power of attorney or health care surrogate "may provide services if employed by a PC agency."Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf
West Virginia's Personal Care manual also carries a caution for families: "Caution is advised for those people who live with their direct care worker, or if their direct care worker is a relative, to ensure services are for the sole benefit of the eligible person to avoid disallowances."Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf In practice, paid Personal Care Services hours have to serve your parent, not others in the household.
A spouse can't be paid through West Virginia Personal Care Services.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf Our guide to getting paid to care for a spouse in West Virginia covers the routes that remain.
Personal Care Services Hours and Pay for a Family Caregiver in West Virginia
Your parent's Personal Care Services hours come from an assessment, not a flat allowance. A West Virginia Personal Care Services registered nurse develops a Plan of Care with your parent, and that plan must consider any help family, friends or the community already give.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf West Virginia's Personal Care manual says informal supports aren't mandatory in the program, so the family isn't required to give unpaid help. Personal Care Services also aren't to be provided "for the convenience of others living in the household."Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf
Three limits shape a West Virginia Personal Care Services schedule:Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf
Level 1 West Virginia Personal Care Services is limited to up to 60 hours a calendar month.
No West Virginia Personal Care Services member gets more than 210 hours (840 units) a month, and that amount depends on assessed need.
A West Virginia Personal Care Services direct care worker can bill no more than 16 hours a day, however many members they care for.
Who Qualifies for Personal Care Services and How to Start
Personal Care Services is a Medicaid benefit, so your parent needs to be a West Virginia Medicaid member.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). West Virginia Waiver Factsheet - CMS State Waivers List, Medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Sep 2, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/section-1115-demo/demonstration-and-waiver-list/Waiver-Descript-Factsheet/WV To qualify medically for West Virginia Personal Care Services, a member must have three deficits on the most current Pre-Admission Screening (PAS) and need hands-on assistance, supervision or cueing with daily activities.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). West Virginia Waiver Factsheet - CMS State Waivers List, Medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Sep 2, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/section-1115-demo/demonstration-and-waiver-list/Waiver-Descript-Factsheet/WV Two deficits can also qualify for West Virginia Personal Care Services when the PAS shows one of the listed conditions, such as a stage 3 or 4 pressure sore (decubitus), being mentally or physically unable to leave a building in an emergency, certain skilled needs, or being unable to take their own medications.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). West Virginia Waiver Factsheet - CMS State Waivers List, Medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Sep 2, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/section-1115-demo/demonstration-and-waiver-list/Waiver-Descript-Factsheet/WV
and ask whether it can hire you as your parent's direct care worker. West Virginia Personal Care Services is delivered by state-enrolled providers certified for it.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf
4
Step 4
Call West Virginia Medicaid Client Services at 1-800-642-8589 or 304-558-2400
It depends. The federal exclusion in IRS Notice 2014-7 is written for Medicaid home and community-based waivers. For a Medicaid state plan program like West Virginia Personal Care Services, the IRS says its treatment "will depend on the nature of the payments and the purpose and design of the program."Internal Revenue Service. (n.d.). Certain Medicaid waiver payments may be excludable from income. irs.gov. Retrieved Jul 10, 2026, from https://www.irs.gov/individuals/certain-medicaid-waiver-payments-may-be-excludable-from-income,Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). West Virginia State Plan Amendment 23-0005 — CMS approval letter (June 16, 2023) and approved pages, Supplement 2 to Attachments 3.1-A and 3.1-B, item 26 Personal Care Services (effective 01/01/2023) — medicaid.gov. medicaid.gov. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/WV-23-0005.pdf Ask a tax professional, and see whether a Medicaid-paid caregiver gets a W-2 or 1099.
My parent needs nursing-home-level care. Is there another option?
Yes. West Virginia's application approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the West Virginia Aged and Disabled Waiver says relatives may be paid as personal attendants, excluding the person's legal guardian and spouse.bms.wv.gov. (2025). Application for a §1915(c) HCBS Waiver: WV.0134.R08.00 (Aged and Disabled Waiver), 5-year renewal effective July 1, 2025 — Appendix C-2-d/C-2-e and Appendix C-1/C-3 Personal Attendant; CMS-approved application as posted by WV DoHS Bureau for Medical Services (bms.wv.gov, Waivers page). Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://bms.wv.gov/media/40961/download?inline Our West Virginia HCBS waivers guide explains who qualifies.
Find personalized help getting paid through West Virginia Medicaid Personal Care Services 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.
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