Albany Senior AdvisorHow does Medicaid pay for home care in New York?
Most adults who have both Medicare and Medicaid and need more than 120 days of community-based long-term care enroll in a Managed Long Term Care plan, which authorizes and pays for home care aides, adult day health care and related services after an independent assessment.
The New York Independent Assessor, 855-222-8350, schedules the assessment. Plans differ in their networks of home care agencies, so ask which agencies a plan uses in your parent's town before enrolling.
What is CDPAP in New York?
The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program lets a Medicaid recipient hire and direct their own aide, who can be a relative other than a spouse, and since 2025 every CDPAP participant statewide is served by a single fiscal intermediary, Public Partnerships LLC.
CDPAP is popular in rural parts of the region, where agency aides can be hard to find in Schoharie or Washington County. The participant, or a designated representative, takes on the hiring and scheduling.
What is PACE, and who offers it around Albany?
PACE, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, combines medical care, a day center, home care and transportation for people 55 and older who need nursing-home-level care, and in the Capital Region it is offered by Eddy SeniorCare, part of St. Peter's Health Partners.
Eddy SeniorCare serves listed ZIP codes in Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer counties; its eligibility line is (518) 539-4986. People outside those ZIP codes, including Saratoga, Warren and Columbia county residents, would use other Medicaid plans.
Is there help for home care if my parent is not on Medicaid?
Yes: the Expanded In-home Services for the Elderly Program (EISEP), run through each county Office for the Aging, provides case management, personal care and respite on a cost-share basis for people 60 and older who are not Medicaid-eligible.
Waiting lists vary by county. Ask the Office for the Aging about EISEP at the same time as home-delivered meals and caregiver respite.
How do I choose among these programs?
Start with financial eligibility: if your parent qualifies for Medicaid, an MLTC plan or PACE pays most; if not, EISEP and private pay fill the gap; and if a trusted relative can be the aide, CDPAP may give the most control.
Agencies with Capital Region office addresses on the state roster include 5 certified home health agencies, 60 licensed home care services agencies and 2 hospice licenses; many serve several counties, so ask each one whether it covers your parent's town. The county Office for the Aging and NY Connects, 1-800-342-9871, can walk through the options for free.
Side by side
| Home care programs | Home care programs are not | |
|---|---|---|
| MLTC | Medicaid plans that authorize aides | Available without an assessment |
| CDPAP | Self-directed aides, including some relatives | Run by dozens of agencies anymore |
| PACE | Eddy SeniorCare in parts of three counties | Available region-wide |
| EISEP | Cost-shared help for non-Medicaid seniors | Free for everyone |
Where this page states a rule or a dollar figure, it relies on New York statute or regulation (Social Services Law, Public Health Law, 18 NYCRR and 10 NYCRR), Department of Health GIS messages and directories, CMS, the VA or CareScout, as named in the text. How we source facts: editorial standards.
