How much should I pay my caregivers?
The national median for home health and personal care aides was $17.21 an hour in May 2025, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. What you can pay depends on your Georgia Medicaid rate and your costs. Check your rate, add payroll taxes and costs, and then set pay.
A good starting point is what the market pays. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median of $35,800 a year, or $17.21 an hour, for home health and personal care aides in May 2025. This is a national figure for all settings, so your area may differ.
In Georgia, the state approved a raise for direct support workers in Medicaid disability waivers. The Georgia Recorder reported in December 2024 that the average pay moved from about $10.63 an hour toward about $16.70, funded with $107 million. The article does not say it applies to every program, so check which services in your contract were included.
How to set your pay:
- Find your exact Medicaid rate for each service you provide.
- Subtract your costs: payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, insurance, supervision, training and office costs.
- Decide what hourly pay leaves a margin.
- Compare with local job posts.
- Plan for overtime.
A federal rule on passing 80 percent of Medicaid payments for home care to workers was finalized in 2024. LeadingAge, a trade group, had not reported a change to it at its latest update I read, but members of Congress asked for it to be removed. Do not plan around it until your state tells you what it will do.
Ask your Georgia Medicaid contact what applies to you.
Sources
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Occupational Outlook Handbook · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Caregivers of Georgians with disabilities finally realizing long-awaited pay hike · Georgia Recorder
- CMS finalizes Medicaid Access Rule with 80/20 wage pass-through · LeadingAge
- CMS significant Medicaid rules addressing access and quality · LeadingAge
Reviewed by Beth Bledsoe, Care Business Advisor®, 28 Oct 2026. Rules change. Confirm with your state Medicaid agency before you act.
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