Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: partially, through Consumer-Directed Attendant Services (CDAS), where family pay is possible but narrower than a full open hire. A spouse cannot be the paid caregiver; the federal rule against paying a “legally responsible relative” still applies here.
How Maine pays a family caregiver
| Program | Consumer-Directed Attendant Services (CDAS) |
|---|---|
| Can a family member be paid? | Partial. “12.07 NON-COVERED SERVICES (cont.) … F. Services provided by the member’s family member, as defined in Section 12.02-10;” |
| Can a spouse be paid? | No. “12.02-10 Family Member is a spouse of the member, the parents or stepparents of a minor child, or a legally responsible relative.” |
Why the spouse question is different
Federal Medicaid rule treats a spouse (and a parent paying for a minor child) as a “legally responsible relative”, someone already assumed to owe the care for free, so paying them is barred by default. A state has to build an explicit exception into its waiver or state-plan option to pay a spouse at all; the rule for any other relative (an adult child, a sibling, a grandchild) is looser and usually allowed. That is why the two rows above can carry different answers on the same page.
The going rate
Not published by the state in the materials reviewed this session.
How it works
A registered nurse conducts a Medical Eligibility Determination assessment; once approved, the member hires, trains, and supervises their own attendant, with a Fiscal Intermediary handling payroll. A spouse, a minor’s parent/stepparent, or any other “legally responsible relative” is excluded by definition as a non-covered provider; other relatives are not barred by this definition.
What this doesn’t answer
No published hourly rate was found on an official Maine source this session.
Sources
- Maine SOS: MaineCare Benefits Manual, Chapter II, Section 12: Consumer-Directed Attendant Services (current rule)
- Maine SOS: MaineCare Benefits Manual, Chapter III, Section 12: Allowances for Consumer-Directed Attendant Services (rate table)
Read September 3, 2026.
Same question, other states: Maryland · Massachusetts.
Related: the private-pay caregiver-agreement rule · the household-employee tax rules once you’re being paid · what family caregiving actually costs unpaid.
General information drawn from each state’s own Medicaid agency and public program materials, not legal, tax or financial advice. Medicaid self-direction programs are administered state by state and change by budget cycle and waiver renewal; this page cannot see your own state’s current program status or your family’s eligibility. We are not a law firm, a benefits counselor, or a fiduciary, and this is not personalized advice. We sell nothing on this page and earn nothing from it.