Pennsylvania · waiver service
Community HealthChoices (CHC) — Participant-Directed Services in Pennsylvania
Community HealthChoices is Pennsylvania's managed long-term care program for adults 21 and older who need nursing-facility level of care or who have both Medicare and Medicaid. Members who choose participant-directed personal assistance services hire their own direct care worker, which can be an adult child or other relative, and Tempus Unlimited pays the worker as the statewide financial management services vendor.
Also called: CHC · CHC waiver · Community HealthChoices waiver · PA CHC participant directed · Pennsylvania CHC self-directed
Who do you care for?
Quick facts
- Pay
- $13–$19/hr
- Adult children & other relatives
- Yes
- Spouse
- Not right now
- Parent of a minor child
- Not right now
- Waitlist
- possible
Who qualifies for Community HealthChoices (CHC) — Participant-Directed Services
- Pennsylvania resident, age 21 or older.
- Needs nursing-facility level of care (for home and community-based services), or is dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.
- Meets Medical Assistance (Medicaid) long-term care income and resource limits.
- Enrolled with one of the CHC managed care organizations (AmeriHealth Caritas/Keystone First, PA Health & Wellness, or UPMC).
Who can be paid as the caregiver
- Adult children & other relatives Yes
- relatives, including adult children, can be hired as direct care workers.
- Spouse Not right now
- spouses, legal guardians, representative payees and people holding power of attorney cannot be paid; OLTL ended the pandemic exception on May 11, 2023.
- Parent of a minor child Not right now
- CHC serves adults 21 and older.
- Living together
- the worker may or may not live with the participant.
Who employs the caregiver: Either. Under participant direction the participant (or a Common Law Employer) is the employer and Tempus is the fiscal agent; members can instead use a home care agency.
Spouse rules differ by program — see spouse pay in Pennsylvania.
How much Community HealthChoices (CHC) — Participant-Directed Services pays
$13–$19/hr. The Common Law Employer sets the worker's wage up to a maximum that depends on the participant's county and each MCO's region bill rate, minus employer taxes and workers' compensation. Tempus publishes 2026 maximum DCW pay rate sheets and calculators per MCO; a single statewide figure is not published. The $13–$19 range is the commonly reported span.
Hours and budget: The MCO service coordinator assesses needs and authorizes personal assistance hours in the person-centered service plan.
Compare with other Pennsylvania programs on the Pennsylvania caregiver pay page, or across states in pay rates by state.
Is there a waitlist?
CHC is a 1915(b)/(c) program with a set number of slots; no active waitlist is published.
How to apply for Community HealthChoices (CHC) — Participant-Directed Services
- Call the Pennsylvania Independent Enrollment Broker at 1-877-550-4227 or submit its online Community Referral Form.
- Complete the Medical Assistance application and the functional eligibility (level of care) assessment.
- Choose a CHC managed care organization and tell your service coordinator you want participant-directed services.
- Enroll yourself and your worker with Tempus Unlimited and set the wage using the 2026 rate sheet for your MCO.
- PA Independent Enrollment Broker · 1-877-550-4227 · official site
- CHC Participant Hotline (OLTL) · 1-833-735-4416 · official site
- Tempus Unlimited (CHC FMS) · not published here — see the Tempus PA site · official site
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Community HealthChoices (CHC) — Participant-Directed Services questions
Can I get paid to take care of my mother through CHC?
Yes. If your mother chooses participant-directed services, she (or a Common Law Employer) can hire you as her direct care worker, and Tempus pays you.
Can a spouse be paid under CHC?
No. Pennsylvania does not let spouses, legal guardians, representative payees or people with power of attorney be paid caregivers. A temporary pandemic exception ended May 11, 2023.
How much do CHC direct care workers make?
It depends on the county and the managed care plan. The employer picks a wage up to the maximum on the Tempus 2026 rate sheet for that plan. Reported wages run roughly $13 to $19 an hour.
Who is Tempus?
Tempus Unlimited is the financial management services vendor for CHC participant direction. It handles worker enrollment, payroll and taxes.
Can the person managing my care also be my paid worker?
No. A representative or Common Law Employer cannot also be the paid direct care worker for the same participant.
Sources: pa.tempusunlimited.org · phlp.org · pa.gov · medicaidplanningassistance.org · Updated 2026-10-08. Program rules change — always confirm with the program.
Where most Pennsylvania caregivers are
Counties with the most residents aged 65 and older. The rules are the same everywhere in Pennsylvania — pick yours for the local picture.
Across the line
States that border Pennsylvania
Each state writes its own rules, and they differ more than people expect — a spouse who can be paid on one side of the line often cannot be on the other.