Care Economy Payments for HCBS Direct Care Workers
To support California's direct care providers of Medi-Cal Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will be distributing a one-time payment of $500. These payments are meant to help alleviate financial strain and hardships suffered by California's HCBS direct care workforce during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) and incentivize retention of California's existing HCBS direct care workforce.
These payments are funded through
California's HCBS Spending Plan, approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on
January 4, 2022.
Eligibility
To qualify, an HCBS direct care provider:
- Must have worked for a minimum of two (2) months between March 2020 and March 2021.
- Must currently be providing direct care HCBS.
- Must have provided services through one of the following HCBS waivers/programs:
o Assisted Living Waiver (ALW)
o California Community Transitions (CCT)
o Community-Based Adult Services (CBAS)
o Home and Community-Based Alternatives (HCBA) Waiver
o Medi-Cal Waiver Program (MCWP)
o Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP)
o Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
Eligible Provider Types*:
The following provider types are being considered by DHCS to receive a payment:
- Nurse Care Manager
- Social Work Case Manager
- Social Worker Assistant
- Program Aide
- Activity Coordinator
- Personal Care Services (PCS) worker
- Attendant Care Provider
- Homemaker Provider
Application Process
DHCS will post additional information and guidance on this page, as well as provide updates through various other channels, including email,
stakeholder updates , and
social media.
To expedite the application submission process, organizations are encouraged to begin gathering the following necessary information for each eligible employee:
Required Eligible Employee Information*:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Last four digits of either the employee's Social Security Number issued by the Social Security Administration or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number issued by the IRS
- Current mailing address
Contact Us
For questions, please email HCBSCareEconomyPayments@dhcs.ca.gov
